OMAHA, Neb.—Three more swine flu cases have been confirmed in Nebraska, and the state’s chief medical officer expects additional confirmations in coming days.
The total number of cases in Nebraska stands at six, including four Nebraskans.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that federal officials confirmed cases involving children ages 5 to 18 from Madison, Pierce and Sarpy counties. State authorities said all three have recovered or are recovering.
Nebraska’s chief medical officer, Dr. Joann Schaefer, said a probable case, from Madison County, has been sent to the federal lab in Atlanta for confirmation. That takes the pending total there to six.
“Ninety-nine percent of the probable case specimens that states are sending to the Centers for Disease Control are turning into confirmed cases,” Schaefer said. “We now have six probable cases pending there for confirmation, and, based on CDC’s results, I think most, if not all, of them will be confirmed.”
Previously confirmed cases include a Sarpy County woman in her 50s who had traveled to Mexico recently and had to be hospitalized. She has since been released.
The virus also sickened a California man in his 40s who was visiting the Omaha area. Officials believe he was exposed to the virus in the San Diego area, where he lives. He remains in Nebraska, Schaefer said Monday.
The other confirmed case is that of a 19-year-old Missouri man, although officials haven’t said how he was exposed to the virus. He remains hospitalized in an Omaha-area hospital for a previous condition.
The virus has caused havoc for some school districts.
U.S. health officials came out with a recommendation Tuesday afternoon that schools not close because of the H1N1 virus. But that was after the Omaha Public Schools announced Chandler View Elementary would cancel classes the rest of the week.
Now OPS is rethinking that decision.
OPS spokeswoman Luanne Nelson said Chandler View would remain closed Wednesday. She said Superintendent John Mackiel would decide whether the school reopens Thursday after evaluating the situation Wednesday.
“We’re loving this,” Nelson said sarcastically, in response to the new federal recommendation.
“We depend on the CDC and other health services to provide us with information to make decisions. We want to protect our students. We want to do the right thing. It’s difficult when new information is coming out every day.”
In Norfolk, where two schools have closed because of swine flu, all schools are to be in session Wednesday.
Gering Superintendent Don Hague said he’s sticking with his original plan to reopen his schools Thursday. Gering students will end up missing three days of classes this week and now will get out for summer vacation on May 21 rather than May 19. Two teacher work days that had been scheduled for the end of the school year were moved up to Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’ve in essence lost one day of school for the kids,” Hague said. “We based our decision on the information we had at the time. I’m sure Public Health (CDC) made their recommendation on what they had. Now that they’ve changed their view on it, hindsight is always 20-20.”
Symptoms of the illness include a fever of more than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.
The virus can be treated with anti-flu drugs, which lessen symptoms if taken within 48 hours of the first signs of illness. But there is no vaccine that prevents this new strain—a mix of pig, human and bird viruses to which people presumably have little natural immunity.
State health officials recommend that only those moderately or seriously ill seek medical treatment to prevent a strain on hospitals and doctors. They’ve also emphasized taking commonsense precautions such as frequent hand washing, covering coughs and staying home at the earliest signs of illness.
———
Associated Press Writers Jean Ortiz and Timberly Ross contributed to this report.
———
On the Net:
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
