Spring Break
Swine flu outbreak hits U.S.
Karen Matthews - The Asscoiated Press
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: News
NEW YORK - Cleaning crews spent the day scrubbing down every desk, chair and classroom at a New York City high school. Infected students wore surgical masks as they recovered in their beds. Anxious parents woke their children at night to check their temperature.
The same strain of swine flu that was suspected in the deaths of 86 people in Mexico has infected at least eight students at a large Roman Catholic high school in Queens, and possibly more than 100.
About a dozen students from St. Francis Preparatory school apparently brought back the virus after spending a week in Cancun for spring break. All of the cases were mild.
Swine flu has been confirmed in at least 20 people in the United States, also in Kansas, California, Texas and Ohio. Many of the victims had recently visited Mexico. The federal government declared a public health emergency Sunday to respond to the outbreak.
Although no cases of the flu have been reported in Colorado, CSU spokesperson Brad Bohlander said in an e-mail to the university community that the CSU's Public Safety Team is monitoring the situation and is currently reviewing CSU's plan for an atypical influenza outbreak, which is already in place.
Bohlander also said state and federal officials assured administrators that there is no need for alarm.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Several governors, Gov. Bill Ritter included, requested medication and masks.
Meanwhile, health officials nationwide were monitoring the outbreak, with many saying it was a not a question of whether their state would be affected but when cases would surface.
Health officials along the U.S.-Mexico border were asking health care providers to take respiratory samples from patients who appear to have the flu. Travelers were being asked if they visited flu-stricken areas.
The same strain of swine flu that was suspected in the deaths of 86 people in Mexico has infected at least eight students at a large Roman Catholic high school in Queens, and possibly more than 100.
About a dozen students from St. Francis Preparatory school apparently brought back the virus after spending a week in Cancun for spring break. All of the cases were mild.
Swine flu has been confirmed in at least 20 people in the United States, also in Kansas, California, Texas and Ohio. Many of the victims had recently visited Mexico. The federal government declared a public health emergency Sunday to respond to the outbreak.
Although no cases of the flu have been reported in Colorado, CSU spokesperson Brad Bohlander said in an e-mail to the university community that the CSU's Public Safety Team is monitoring the situation and is currently reviewing CSU's plan for an atypical influenza outbreak, which is already in place.
Bohlander also said state and federal officials assured administrators that there is no need for alarm.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Several governors, Gov. Bill Ritter included, requested medication and masks.
Meanwhile, health officials nationwide were monitoring the outbreak, with many saying it was a not a question of whether their state would be affected but when cases would surface.
Health officials along the U.S.-Mexico border were asking health care providers to take respiratory samples from patients who appear to have the flu. Travelers were being asked if they visited flu-stricken areas.
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