A 14-year-old Henry County boy is the state's first confirmed novel influenza A H1N1 case, but at least three more probable cases are pending confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia health officials said Monday.
The Eagles Landing Christian Academy in Henry County where the boy is a student was closed Monday and will remain closed for 14 days, said S. Elizabeth Ford, the acting director of the Georgia Division of Public Health. The state is monitoring the students, but none is showing signs of illness, she said.
"However, we do feel it necessary to close the school just as an extra precaution to protect our children," Dr. Ford said.
The state has also sent three more samples off for confirmation: a 3-year-old Cobb County boy, an 8-year-old Clayton County girl and a 36-year-old pregnant DeKalb County woman, Dr. Ford said. Because nearly all of the probable samples across the country have been confirmed, Dr. Ford said it is likely those cases will be, too. The new confirmed case and the probable ones have not been hospitalized so far.
"All cases at this point appear to be clinically well," Dr. Ford said. "They're feeling fine. None of them are at a place where they would need to be hospitalized."
The 8-year-old girl was attending school in Mexico before being brought back to Clayton County, and the 3-year-old had contact with an ill traveler from Mexico a week before he became sick, Dr. Ford said. The 36-year-old woman had neither traveled to an infected area or had known contact with someone who had, Dr. Ford said. She refused antiviral medication out of concern for her pregnancy and has gotten past the infectious period on her own, Dr. Ford said.
"She's currently well," she said.
The 14-year-old boy has a 12-year-old sister who had flu-like symptoms last month but has since recovered, Dr. Ford said. They had contact with a group that had traveled to Panama.
The state is monitoring the contacts of the confirmed and probable cases, and none is showing symptoms so far, she said.
"If their close contacts are asymptomatic it's unlikely that the community would be at risk," Dr. Ford said.
The state's first confirmed case, a 30-year-old Kentucky woman hospitalized in LaGrange, is actually counted by CDC as a Kentucky case of the new virus.
The state has received 169 samples so far, and five have been forwarded to the CDC for confirmation, Dr. Ford said. The state expected to see more confirmed cases, she said.
People should continue to take the same precautions they would for avoiding seasonal flu -- frequent handwashing and staying home if sick.
The state received 325,000 courses of antiviral medication and sent those to hospitals over the weekend, said Patrick O'Neal, the director of the Office of Preparedness for Georgia Public Health.
Though the outbreak appears to be on the wane in states hit earlier, such as New York, it is too early to predict what will happen in Georgia, Dr. Ford said.
"It's our hope that we will, in a matter of weeks, be at that point also and not have any more positives," she said.
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS
IN MEXICO: The government announced a return to "normalcy," preparing to reopen businesses and schools. Mexico had 802 confirmed cases and 27 deaths. The country canceled its biggest celebration of the Cinco de Mayo holiday, a re-enactment of the May 5, 1862, victory over French forces in the central state of Puebla.
IN THE U.S.: Cases grew to 300 in 36 states.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA: Newberry Academy reopened after being closed last week because students who had been in Mexico on a trip last month became ill. Newberry County public schools closed Friday and remained closed Monday. A Greenville County school also reopened Monday after closing last week over flu concerns.
-- Associated Press
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