MIDDLETOWN — A 13-year-old Middletown girl has tested positive for swine flu, becoming the second confirmed case of the H1N1 influenza virus in Butler County.
The teen began suffering flu-like symptoms during the last week in May and was kept at home through the end of the school year, eliminating the need to alert area schools, said Jackie Phillips, Middletown Health Department nursing director.
“She was out the 28th or 29th and school was out around June 4,’’ Phillips said. “Everything that should have been done was done correctly. We lucked out.”
Phillips was notified late Monday, June 8, that the girl tested positive for the virus.
Phillips said the girl has no history of traveling to Mexico, was never hospitalized and is now doing fine.
She urged parents of schoolchildren to stay calm.
“Parents shouldn’t worry. If anybody were to get sick, they would have gotten sick already,’’ Phillips said.
The 13-year-old Middletown resident is among 44 confirmed cases of the virus in the state. A 30-year-old Butler County resident who had recently traveled to Mexico tested positive for the virus in May.
Area health officials confirmed the second positive test in Butler County the same day that World Health Organization officials announced that they are moving “much closer” to declaring swine flu a pandemic.
Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, said in a teleconference that the novel flu continues to spread rapidly and as of Tuesday, June 9, had infected 26,563 people in 73 countries.
Deaths attributed to the outbreak have reached 140.
Health officials urge residents to use basic precautions to avoid the flu, such as washing your hands, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and stay home if you’re sick.
