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thedrifter
05-04-09, 05:54 AM
Three San Diego Marines Confirmed with Swine Flu

Posted: May 1, 2009 11:21 AM


KESQ.com News Services

CAMP PENDLETON - A third service member at Camp Pendleton has a confirmed case of swine flu, a base official said.

The service member is quarantined and being treated as an outpatient, according to the military. Two other Marines were diagnosed with the virus and are isolated. Neither has been hospitalized.

The three service members -- they were not identified by military branch -- bring the total of confirmed cases of swine flu to 14 in the San Diego area. There are 19 probable cases of swine flu reported in the area, according to Jose Alvarez of the county's Health and Human Services Agency.

Two San Diego schools and one San Marcos school were closed Friday due to probable cases of swine flu reported at the schools.

Mission Hills High School and San Diego Unified School District's School of Creative and Performance Arts in Paradise Hills and Kearny High School will be closed until May 18 as a precaution, according to Alvarez.

So far, no students from the closed schools have been diagnosed with the virus. The Mission Hills student, whose gender and age were not released, remains at home with severe flu-like symptoms, Alvarez said.

The two students from San Diego Unified School District who were diagnosed as probable swine flu cases also remain at home, Alvarez said.

"HHSA Public Health Services works closely with local school officials in making a decision about closing a school in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health director, in a release. "The closure of the school is a preventative measure to help prevent possible further infections."

Superintendent Kevin Holt, of the San Marcos Unified School District, said in a release that he understands that closing the school is a "burden" for the families affected.

"But it's a necessary step to ensure the continued good health of our students and faculty," Holt said.

The Centers for Disease Control advises that schools remain closed for 14 days once a probable case is identified, Alvarez said.

If the tests come back negative, then the school can reopen immediately, he said.

"Students (from the closed schools) are encouraged to stay at home," Alvarez said. "The recommendation is for students to stay at home and not go to the mall or go to the movies.

Teachers are expected to report back to work next week to begin teaching their students online, according to Alvarez.

There are 11 confirmed cases and 19 probable cases of swine flu in San Diego County, he said. There have been no deaths, according to Alvarez.

Confirmed cases include a 10-year-old boy, a 54-year-old man and his 16-year-old daughter, a 7-year-old boy, a 20-year-old man, a 3-year-old boy, a 38- year-old man and a 23-year-old man. None of those infected locally have been hospitalized, Wooten said.

So far, 160 cases of swine flu have been diagnosed nationwide. A 23-month-old Mexican boy visiting in Texas is only person to die from swine flu in the United States.

Ellie