Confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu in Colorado ticked up to 10 Tuesday, including two more children, a University of Colorado at Boulder student and a second airport baggage handler.
Though none of the cases appeared much more serious than typical seasonal flu, they nonetheless triggered the closure of a second school in the metro area, an investigation at Denver International Airport and the suspension of visiting hours at state prisons.
Park Lane Elementary School in Aurora was closed “until further notice” after a student tested positive for the virus. School officials shut the doors despite downgraded guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta that no longer recommended school closures based on one sick student.
The second-grader went to school last week but was at home recovering this week, said Aurora Public Schools Superintendent John Barry. He said he knew of no other students thought to have the swine flu.
“We decided to be very conservative in regard to the safety and health of our students, staff and families,” Barry said.
Officials at Jefferson County’s Excel Academy, where two siblings have the virus, had planned to keep the K-8 school closed all week but said they would reopen Thursday because of the new CDC guidelines.
At CU-Boulder, commencement ceremonies and final exams were scheduled to take place this week even after confirmation that a student living in one of the residence halls has the virus and two students living off campus are suspected to be infected.
Local health authorities continued to urge people to wash their hands frequently and stay home for seven days if they have flu symptoms.
The H1N1 virus is seemingly no more destructive than seasonal flu, which would not typically close a school unless so many teachers were sick that it couldn’t operate, said Dr. Richard Vogt, executive director of the Tri-County Health Department that handles Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties.
“We probably don’t have to be quite so aggressive in school closures,” he said. “This particular virus is acting more like seasonal influenza.”
Denver Public Health investigators were looking for possible links between the twobaggage handlers who have tested positive for the flu. One worked for United Airlines, but officials did not say where the other flu victim worked.
Public health authorities were interviewing co-workers of the baggage handlers’ and examining the work environment, said Dr. Chris Urbina, director of Denver Public Health.
United announced this week that it has suspended direct flights from Denver to Mexico because of decreased demand, in part due to the swine-flu scare, said spokesman Rahsaan Johnson. In June, Denver nonstops will resume to two per week to Cancún, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos.
The state Department of Corrections announced it was halting all visiting and non-essential activities in state and private prisons to limit the possibility of an infectious outbreak. The policy will last at least one week, officials said.
There are no confirmed cases of the swine flu in the prison system, which has about 6,500 employees and oversees 23,454 prisoners.
The 10 cases of H1N1 flu include three in Adams County; two in Jefferson County; one each in Arapahoe, Douglas, Eagle and Fremont counties; and the CU student. Only one of the flu victims, the Douglas County man, was hospitalized. He was released and recovered at home.
The state Department of Public Health and Environment began its own testing for the virus this week and no longer has to send nasal swabs to the CDC, which will speed up the process of confirming tests by about two days, officials said.
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593
