Wednesday, April 29, 2009

CDC: 6 more confirmed swine flu cases in state

The total of confirmed swine flu cases in New York State has risen by six, the CDC said Wednesday.

The total positive cases of swine flu rose from 45 to 51 confirmed cases, according to the national Centers for Disease Control.

The confirmation comes hours before a planned news conference by the city Health Department.

On Tuesday, city health officials said it was investigating six suspected cases at Ascension School on 108th Street in Manhattan. The students exhibited signs of flulike symptoms including fever.
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said Wednesday that no swine flu cases have been "confirmed yet at Ascension."


The school and the Archdiocese "are continuing to work with the Health Department and are following their protocols," Zwilling said.

Jason Post, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden will address the new confirmed cases Wednesday.

"Because there are reports of students with flulike symptoms at the Ascension School, the Health Department is monitoring conditions there," he said.

Most of the city's confirmed cases have been linked to St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, where 45 cases of swine flu have been confirmed. Health officials said they expect more cases at the school because "hundreds" of students and staff became ill with symptoms of the virus.

Among those 45 cases at St. Francis is a student who lives in Great Neck.

The city is also investigating "probable" cases at PS 177, a school near St. Francis and 12 students were reported to have flulike symptoms. One of the sick has siblings who attend St. Francis.

Additionally, the city is also determining whether five other cases, including a 2-year-old Bronx boy and a Brooklyn woman, are linked to swine flu.

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