May 20, 2009 2:33 pm US/Eastern
Local ERs Serving As Barometers For Public's Fear
Health Dept. Examines Nasal Swabs On Toddler, Believe Death To Be Unrelated
Public Fears Empty Schools, Fill Emergency Rooms, But Local Hospital Officials Say They're In Control
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The emergency room at the Queens Hospital Center has been flooded with patients with flu-like symptoms as swine flu fears continue to escalate.
CBS
The fear of swine flu is traveling faster than the virus itself. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are now more than 5,700 confirmed cases of the flu in the United States, including nearly 300 in New York.
Health officials updated the latest count for the state Wednesday to 299, with 26 new cases confirmed. Health Commissioner Richard Daines said the new cases include nine in New York City, where the number stands at 201. The total outside the city rose to 98, with 13 cases in Nassau County, two in Rockland, and single cases in Westchester and Monroe counties.
In Queens, hospitals are trying to cope with the wave of the fearful people who have been flooding emergency rooms.
Queens Hospital Center's emergency triage tent is still set up in the parking lot, but hospital officials say so far there's been no need for it. The ER staff has easily handled Wednesday morning's flow of incoming patients. Hopefully, that's good news.
What a difference a day makes. That's the best way to sum up the scene outside the hospital, where the swine flu fearing crowds are gone, leaving a handful of concerned, pro-active parents arriving with their children in tow.
"It caused her to start wheasing, so I had to take her in," said Queens resident Catherine Baker.
If a flurry of rising emergency room admissions and school closings seemed to push the public toward panic mode, then the death of 16-month-old Jonathan Zamora Castillo, who suffered from swine flu like symptoms only fanned the flames.
But health officials now say initial tests show the child did not die from the H1N1 strain of the virus, and the CDC is currently conducting follow-up tests to confirm that finding. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said doctors don't know what killed the toddler, who was born in the United States to Mexican parents, but he noted the boy's 3-year-old sister had been sick with flu-like symptoms.
"What we do know is that a child is dead, and it is very tragic, regardless of what caused it," Bloomberg said while briefing reporters earlier Tuesday.
It was unclear if the boy or anyone in his family had recently visited Mexico, where thousands of people have been sickened by the virus and 74 have died.
If there's any good news for New Yorkers, it's that an overwhelming number of the reported cases are mild.
As emergency rooms continue to serve as one of the barometers of the public's response to this outbreak, we'll see in the next few days how patients walk the fine line between not feeling well enough to go to school or work and feeling sick enough that they feel it's necessary to head to the hospital.
Bloomberg meanwhile remains optimistic, especially given this weekend's holiday weather forecast.
"If you get through the next couple days, the warm weather, typically seems to inhibit the spread of it," said Bloomberg on Tuesday. "The good news is we're coming up to a warm weather period, according to the forecasters, and also we're going to have a three day weekend, which may or may not help."
A funeral is scheduled Wednesday for the city's first confirmed swine flu death. Services for Mitchell Wiener, an assistant principal at a Queens public middle school, will be held at the Sinai Chapels funeral home in Queens.
Meanwhile, the list of schools closing as a result of the swine flu continues to grow. By Wednesday afternoon, 40 schools in the CBS 2 HD viewing area had announced they were closed or closing due to swine flu fears.
The latest schools to join the list are:
* Saint Demetrios School in Astoria (closed for precautionary cases, reopening either Friday May 22 or Tuesday May 26th)
* All 11 schools in the Levittown School District in Nassau County will be closed Thursday through the weekend.
* P.S. 130 (Fernando De Soto, 1,081 students), in Lower Manhattan. A total of 76 students were documented with influenza-like illness during the last six school days.
* P.S. 35 (Nathaniel Woodhull, 615 students), in Hollis. A total of 32 students were documented with influenza-like illness during the last seven school days.
* Merrick Academy Charter School (495 students), in Jamaica. A total of 19 students were documented with influenza-like illness during the last two school days.
* Memorial Junior High School in Valley Stream, Long Island. A total of 8 students were reported to have confirmed cases of the virus.
And in New Jersey:
* School #3 in the Fort Lee School District, N.J. The school is closed just for Wednesday as health officials investigate one probable case.
All five will be closed effective on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, private schools in the Bronx and a parochial school in Queens added their names to the list.
The Horace Mann School in Riverdale said in an e-mail to parents that it will close at the end of the day Tuesday and reopen on May 26. The e-mail says lots of students have been going home with the flu, though no one has tested positive for swine flu.
The South Bronx Charter School in Mott Haven will also shut its doors beginning Wednesday and remain closed through May 26.
Bloomberg also announced the closing of St. Joseph's Parochial School in Queens, where 150 kids were out sick on Monday.
Symptoms of the swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, should seek health care and treatment. The best way to prevent additional cases of flu in schools is to stay home when sick, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and wash hands frequently.
For those who are ill, the recommendation is to stay home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours.
Eating pork or pork products cannot spread the swine flu.
Q&A: What Is Swine Flu?
CDC Swine Flu Facts Sheet
Learn At Home Student Guides
CBS News Interactive: Fighting The Flu
CDC Emergency Updates Via Twitter
Swine Flu Twitter Live Search Results
David Burnia's Swine Flu Watch On Twitter
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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