MORGAN HILL
A 22-year-old Morgan Hill man has been diagnosed with a probable case of swine flu, according to county health officials.
As of 6 p.m. Friday evening, Santa Clara County had nine probable cases of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, including the Morgan Hill man. There were no confirmed cases in San Benito County heading into the weekend.
Once Santa Clara County identifies a case as probable swine flu, it’s forwarded to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga. for confirmation. There were no confirmed cases in the county out of 99 tested as of 1 p.m. Thursday. The CDC had confirmed 24 cases of swine flu in California as of 11 a.m. Saturday. Most of these were in the southern part of the state.
Gilroy’s Rucker Elementary School was one of four county schools closed as a precaution Friday as students were tested. District officials waited for results from a student with a “highly suspect” case of swine flu. The results were negative and Rucker will reopen Monday.
Meanwhile, Ann Sobrato High School Principal Debbie Padilla said two students stayed home sick with the flu, but it wasn’t swine flu. One parent called the office to let them know she was testing her son. That test has come back negative, Padilla said.
“The problem is, we’re dealing with regular flu at the same time,” Padilla said. “We’re telling parents to take extra cautions, that if they’re child is showing symptoms to keep them home. Our goal is to not have any cases, hopefully.”
Federal health officials believe the flu, which regularly affects pigs but rarely humans, originated in Mexico, and they are concerned because it is a new virus for which people have little or no immunity and no vaccine. In addition to being the suspect cause in more than 2,000 illnesses and 150 deaths in Mexico, the flu has infected 109 people in the United States and killed nine in Texas, according to the CDC. Responding to the virus’ rapid spread, the World Health Organization’s director-general, Margaret Chan, raised the organization’s alert level from phase four to phase five Wednesday, signifying that a flu pandemic was imminent.
The CDC has confirmed 160 cases throughout the country, with 50 in New York and 28 in Texas – where a 23-month-old child from Mexico City died in Houston Wednesday morning after visiting relatives in Brownsville.
