State officials said Wednesday that they had identified six probable cases of the swine flu in Maryland - including in two school-age children - as the World Health Organization signaled a pandemic is imminent and federal health authorities said there were 91 confirmed cases of the virus spread across 11 other states.
None of those sickened in Maryland has been hospitalized, and all had links to people who had traveled to Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, or other countries where there have been swine flu cases, Gov. Martin O'Malley said.
The schools attended by the two children - Folger McKinsey Elementary School in Severna Park and Milford Mill Academy in southwestern Baltimore County - are not being closed, and there is no fear at this time that the virus has spread to other students.
Still, the six likely cases in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties - which are expected to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday - are probably not the last, officials said. The state is testing at least a half-dozen more specimens from people with flu-like symptoms and links to countries where there has been flu, so the numbers could climb.
In Washington on her first day on the job, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters: "While we still don't know what this virus will do, we expect to see more cases, more hospitalizations and, unfortunately, we are likely to see additional deaths from the outbreak."
WHO has confirmed human cases of swine flu in countries including Mexico, the United States, Canada, Britain, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, Germany and Austria.
In Mexico, the disease is confirmed or suspected in 159 deaths and nearly 2,500 illnesses. All nonessential services at government offices and private businesses were suspended. The first U.S. death was announced, a toddler from Mexico visiting Texas. The disease is a new one, a hybrid that is parts bird, pig and human viruses. Experts say people are vulnerable to the virus because their bodies have never been exposed to it, and health officials don't know how it will behave and how deadly it might become.
Parents at Milford Mill were notified in a letter Wednesday about the probable swine flu cases; Folger McKinsey parents were informed through the school's phone notification system. Since neither of the two sickened students has been in school since Friday - and there has not been increased absenteeism at the schools - health and school officials determined the best course of action was to keep the schools open.
