(Updated 7:11 p.m.) Connecticut is investigating four possible cases of swine flu at Yale.
Meanwhile, students in East Haddam and at Fairfield University have been tested for a type A influenza different than the strain that coursed through Connecticut this past winter, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s office. (Click here for the latest on possible cases around the state.)
Viral samples from four Yale “affiliates” with type A flu have also been sent to the state Department of Public Health “to determine whether these are cases of swine flu,” the university confirmed Thursday in an email to the Yale community. The students live off campus and are being treated with antiviral medications.
“No cases of swine flu (H1N1 Influenza A) have been confirmed at Yale. However, the Yale University Health Services (YUHS) is treating four patients for Influenza A,” University Secretary Linda Lorimer wrote in the email.
“These patients all live off campus, and they are only mildly ill and receiving treatment at home. As a precautionary measure, these patients are receiving anti-viral medications. If it turns out that any members of the Yale community have confirmed cases of swine flu, we will let you know right away.”
A Yale spokesperson said Thursday evening that the four “affiliates” are students and are being sequestered. The spokesperson didn’t say whether the students had recently traveled to Mexico.
None of the cases appears serious. However, the “normal” seasonal flu has run its course, increasing the odds that current cases are swine flu.
Test results will indicate whether any of the Yale cases are probably swine flu.
Samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine whether the flu viruses are indeed the emerging “swine” H1N1 type.
Dr. Louise Dembry, hospital epidemiologist at Yale-New Haven Hospital, said out of five suspected cases in the state, two from East Haddam have tested negative for swine flu.
Tests were continuing to be performed on samples from three possible swine flu cases at Fairfield University Wednesday afternoon. Two have been labeled “probable” and a third is awaiting confirmation by the CDC.
Connecticut still has no confirmed cases of swine flu.
By next week the laboratory at the state Department of Public Health will obtain the CDC assays necessary to identify the swine flu. Currently, sample results from the CDC take about 48 hours.
Dembry said there is no evidence that the swine flu is spreading “person-to-person,” which would produce many more cases.
Dr. Zane Saul, chief of infectious diseases at Bridgeport Hospital, said he would not be surprised if swine flu is confirmed in Connecticut.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Saul said. “This is not like Mexico,” where the virus has killed about 160 people.
The question of why the U.S. version of the new H1N1 is apparently milder than the one in Mexico remains unanswered, he said. The U.S. may be diagnosing cases at an earlier stage, or the viruses may have genetic differences, he said.
Dembry said people should continue to follow standard precautions:
• Cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze into a tissue.
• Avoid close contact with people who have flu-like symptoms.
• If you have flu-like symptoms, including high fever, sore throat, cough, aches and pains, do not go to work. Stay home.
• Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your nose, eyes or face.
• If you recently visited Mexico and feel ill, contact your doctor.
This swine flu has the potential for a pandemic because it carries a swine version of the surface protein H1. It also carries genetic materials from birds and humans.
Consequently, no humans have yet developed residual immunity against the virus, Dembry said.
It is impossible to predict the extent to which the virus will spread, or how long it will remain in circulation, she said.
Meanwhile, the state is distributing 9,512 treatment courses of the antiviral medications Tamiflu or Relenza to Connecticut’s 31 acute-care hospitals. The 10-day treatments are being taken from the state’s stockpile of 11,000 courses.
Rell has asked 130,000 additional treatment courses from the federal government.
Hospitals are treating patients with flu-like symptoms as if the patients have swine flu, keeping them in isolation until they recover.