CDC: Swine Flu Cases In NYC Rises To 51

Number Of Confirmed Cases In NYC Grows To 51; St. Francis Prep, PS 177 Remain Closed

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NEW YORK (CBS) ―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.

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.

Two New York City schools remain at the heart of the city's confirmed cases. St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens and neighboring PS 177 remain closed while the city investigates hundreds of alleged cases of students reporting symptoms similar to those associated with the virus.

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.
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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," NYC Health Commissioner Thomas 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," the health department said.

That means the department will only continue to test critical cases and clusters like the three already labeled. The most significant number of cases confirmed at St. Francis Prep, now considered the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak. Then there is PS 177, a special needs school just a few blocks away from St. Francis Prep. One of the sick students at PS 177 has a sibling at the high school.

The health department is labeling Ascension School in Manhattan as a cluster location, with one student with a mild case of the flu and six others with fever.

Church Pastor Father John Duffell said the students in question have had no contact with the other clusters. In fact, he added the announcement of even possible swine flu in his school is incorrect.

"The city behaved in an irresponsible fashion. They themselves created this panic," Father Duffell said.

A medical team will be at Ascension on Wednesday morning testing students if they have symptoms.

Meanwhile, accounting giant Ernst & Young was a bit overzealous in their reporting of an employee who had apparently contracted the swine flu virus on Monday night, CBS 2 HD has learned.

The Department of Health and the CDC both confirmed Tuesday morning that the firm's initial claim was erroneous and that the worker does not have the virus.

Ernst & Young officials evacuated and closed off a section of its office in Times Square for disinfection after the sick employee was mistakenly diagnosed with the virus. The news created a scare throughout the city, prompting both the health department and the CDC to determine whether a new outbreak was in fact taking place.
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