Apr 30, 2009 6:00 am US/Eastern
NYC Swine Flu Cases At 51; 5 Schools Now Closed
Potential Cases In Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Cortland Counties
President Obama: "Schools With Confirmed Cases Should Consider Closing"
Virus Claims Life Of 23-Month-Old Mexican Child In Brownsville, Tx
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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An H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus, viewed through a microscope.
AP
The outbreak of disease in people caused by the swine flu virus continues to grow around the world, including right here in New York City.
The Centers for Disease Control is reporting six additional infections in the city, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 51, CBS 2 HD has learned.
City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said Wednesday all those with confirmed cases are recovering, including a 19-month-old baby and a young woman who were hospitalized.
Five NYC schools are now closed, including the two at the heart of the city's confirmed cases, St. Francis Prep and neighboring PS 177, plus the Good Shepherd Catholic School in Marine Park, St. Brigid Catholic School in Bushwick and, announced late Wednesday, Bishop Kearney Catholic School in Bensonhurst.
An outbreak has not been reported at Bishop Kearney, but some of the students were believed to have been in contact with people who had contracted the virus.
State Health Commissioner Richard Daines said tests continue on Nassau, Suffolk, Orange and Cortland county cases believed to have been caused by the same virus.
The two probable cases in Nassau County are a student and employee from the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, which has become the epicenter for New York City's outbreak.
According to the CDC's website, the more recent illnesses suggest that a pattern of more severe illnesses associated with the virus may be emerging in the U.S.
The U.S. now has 91 confirmed cases of the new swine flu in 10 states.
The update from the CDC comes hours after officials reported the first confirmed death in the U.S. from swine flu, a 23-month-old Mexican child in Houston.
Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Houston Health and Human Services Department, said Wednesday that the child had traveled with family from Mexico to Brownsville in south Texas. She says the child became ill in Brownsville and was taken to a Houston hospital and died Monday night.
The CDCs acting director, Richard Besser, confirmed the news Wednesday on CBS' Early Show that the child had indeed died from the disease.
Besser did not give any further details on the fatal case, but said the Texas department of health would soon provide more information.
"Flu is a very serious disease, and we're treating this outbreak very seriously," Besser told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "We're taking agressive action to try and control this."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that that dealing with the swine flu virus will be "a marathon, not a sprint" and individual citizens have a responsibility to help.
Appearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Napolitano, who is the Obama administration's lead official on the federal disaster response, said that in important respects, state and local authorities represent the "first responder" role in the widening health emergency. She said some 40 states, for instance, are involved in close coordination and consultation with the federal establishment.
"There is a lot we don't yet know about this outbreak. But at the same time we have been preparing as if we are facing a true pandemic, even though we don't know the ultimate scope of what will occur," Napolitano said.
"My heart goes out to the family," President Obama said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
Mr. Obama stressed that the federal government was taking all the necessary steps to try and slow the disease's spread, but he told local medical workers across the nation, "we need your assistance."
He urged vigilance for any sign of the virus and said it was imperative that any suspicions be reported immediately.
The President, on his 100th day in office, said that "schools with confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 should strongly consider" closing, but warned parents that simply taking children out of school and putting them into a daycare center is "not a good option."
Mr. Obama said parents should start to consider "other options," should their kids be told not to show up for school in the near future.
"It's very important that people take their concern and channel it into action," Besser said, urging Americans again to wash their hands often and cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing.
"I don't think it (the reported death in Texas) indicates any change in the strain," the CDC chief added. "We see with any flu virus a spectrum of disease symptoms."
Health officials predicted the grim news a day earlier, when authorities said they "fully expect" to see U.S. deaths as the virus continued its spread around the world.
The world has no vaccine to prevent infection but U.S. health officials aim to have a key ingredient for one ready in early May, the big step that vaccine manufacturers are awaiting. But even if the World Health Organization ordered up emergency vaccine supplies - and that decision hasn't been made yet - it would take at least two more months to produce the initial shots needed for human safety testing.
"We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press.
Back in New York, officials said that in addition to the 51 confirmed cases, hundreds of students are sick with symptoms.
"We know that many hundreds of students are ill with likely swine flu," Frieden said.
But on Tuesday night, the city's Department of Health announced that mild individual cases will no longer be tested for swine flu.
The latest criteria decision is that the "the agency will reserve testing at this time for clusters of illness, or cases involving severe symptoms," according to Frieden.
That means the department will only continue to test critical cases and clusters like the three already labeled.
The U.S. is shipping to states not only enough anti-flu medication for 11 million people, but also masks, hospital supplies and flu test kits. President Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency funds to help build more drug stockpiles and monitor future cases, as well as help international efforts to avoid a full-fledged pandemic.
"It's a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," the WHO's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told a telephone news conference.
Cuba and Argentina banned flights to Mexico, where swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people and sickening well over 2,000. In a bit of good news, Mexico's health secretary, Jose Cordova, late Tuesday called the death toll there "more or less stable."
Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, has taken drastic steps to curb the virus' spread, starting with shutting down schools and on Tuesday expanding closures to gyms and swimming pools and even telling restaurants to limit service to takeout. People who venture out tend to wear masks in hopes of protection.
Frequently Asked Questions: What Is Swine Flu?
CBS 2's Mary Calvi and Jay Dow contributed to this report.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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