CDC confirms Queens high school students have swine flu

BY Erin Einhorn and Tina Mooore
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

It's confirmed: it's swine flu.

Mayor Bloomberg said Sunday federal health officials have found that eight prep school students in Queens have the dreaded illness.

He urged New Yorkers to stay home from work if they have any symptoms of the flu - but also urged people not to panic or flood hospital emergency rooms.

"If you have a cough or a sore throat stay home," Bloomberg said at a morning news conference. "Do not go to work or school and if you're not very sick don't go to the hospital."

The warning came afte U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tests confirmed that human swine flu has infected eight students at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens.

About 100 students - many of whom recently took a trip to Mexico - have flu symptoms.

The students have mild symptoms and many are improving, Bloomberg said.

But it has been linked to 81 deaths more than 1,000 illnesses in Mexico - and CDC officvials expect more illnesses around the nation. So far there six cases in California, two more in Texas and two in Kansas.

The World Health Organization has warned the virus threatens to become a global pandemic.

Eight of the students tested positive for Influenza A but did match any of the known human variants of that virus - the H1 and H3 human subtypes - by available testing methods.

That led health officials to fear a new strain of the quickly evolving virus.

"We are concerned that we may have a new strain," Health Commissioner Tom Freiden said at a morning news conference. "But we have not identified an increase of influenza."

The Queens investigation began last week, when students at the prep school developed flu-like symptoms, including fever and sore throat. The Health Department's Public Health Laboratory tested nine nose and throat swabs.

The CDC also reported today that an investigation of sickness at a Bronx daycare facility has so far not identified any confirmed or probable cases.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said he spoke with the CDC and was informed that New York City was "better prepared than just abut anyone else."

Swine flu is a respiratory infection caused by influenza type A viruses that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can occur.

Human cases typically involve people who have had direct contact with pigs, but the CDC said likely person-to-person transmission has now been reported in California, Texas, Mexico and New York City.

While the cases in Mexico have had a high fatality rate, but the confirmed cases in the U.S. have been mild and all patients have recovered without treatment.

The symptoms of swine flu in people appear to be similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well.

hkennedy@nydailynews.com

Possible Swine Flu Outbreak At NYC Prep School

Department Of Health Officials Testing 75 Students At St. Francis Preparatory School In Queens

NEW YORK (CBS) ―
New York City health officials say that about 75 students at a Queens high school have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms and testing is under way to rule out the strain of swine flu that has killed dozens in Mexico.

The Health Department's Dr. Don Weiss said Friday that a team of agency doctors and investigators were dispatched to the private St. Francis Preparatory School the previous day after students reported fever, sore throat, cough, aches and pains. No one has been hospitalized.

The handful of sick students who remained at the school were tested for a variety of flu strains. If they're found to have a known human strain that would rule out swine flu.

Results could take several days. In the meantime, the school says it's postponing an evening event and sanitizing the building over the weekend.

Mexican authorities said 60 people may have died from a swine flu virus in Mexico, and world health officials worry it could unleash a global flu epidemic.

Mexico City closed schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across the metropolis Friday in hopes of containing the outbreak that has sickened more than 900.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tests show some of the Mexico victims died from the same new strain of swine flu that sickened eight people in Texas and California. It's a frightening new strain that combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans.

The World Health Organization was looking closely at the 60 deaths - most of them in or near Mexico's capital. It wasn't yet clear what flu they died from, but spokesman Thomas Abraham said "We are very, very concerned."

"We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human," he said. "It's all hands on deck at the moment."

WHO raised its internal alert system Friday, preparing to divert more money and personnel to dealing with the outbreak.

President Felipe Calderon cancelled a trip and met with his Cabinet to coordinate Mexico's response. The government has 500,000 flu vaccines and planned to administer them to health workers, the highest risk group.

There are no vaccines available for the general public in Mexico, and authorities urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection.

Some Mexican residents have started wearing blue surgical masks for extra protection, reports CBS News correspondent Adrienne Bard. The federal health minister has warned people not to go near anyone with a respiratory infection and to avoid kissing - traditional Mexican greeting.