First two cases of swine flu confirmed in Clark County

The Southern Nevada Health District this morning confirmed Clark County’s first two cases of swine flu. Health officials identified the patients as an 11-year-old boy who has since recovered and a 39-year-old woman who is hospitalized.

The 11-year-old boy attends Findlay Middle School, an unnamed school district official confirmed tonight. Findlay Middle School is in the northern part of the valley at 333 W. Tropical Pkwy.

Nellis Air Force Base officials said tonight that the boy, a dependent of a military family, has completely recovered and is not contagious. "Further monitoring is no longer necessary," a press release states.

The isolated case has had no impact on operations at Nellis or Creech Air Force bases, the release states.

“Swine flu is circulating in our community,” said Brian Labus, the health district’s chief epidemiologist. “These are not the last cases we’ll find.”

The county has five probable swine flu cases awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those cases will likely be confirmed, Labus said at a morning news conference.

Health officials said they didn’t know how the two patients contracted the H1N1 virus. Neither patient nor people they had contact with were sick or had traveled out of the country in the week before the patients took ill, Labus said.

Health officials would not identify the middle school the boy attended or the hospital where the woman was being treated.

Also today, the Washoe County Health District confirmed two more cases of swine flu in that Northern Nevada county, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Reno area to three.

Those cases are relatives of the 2-year-old girl who was stricken last week. All three were recovering.

Dr. Lawrence Sands, the Southern Nevada Health District’s chief health officer, said the new cases should not worry the public.

“It is not surprising and not cause for alarm,” he said.

The swine flu virus is similar to the typical flu viruses that send 200,000 Americans to the hospital every year. Although some patients might experience serious illness that requires hospitalization, others might be sick a couple of days and return to normal without any medical treatment, he said.

Sands recommended people wash their hands frequently and cover their hands and noses when sneezing or coughing to prevent getting sick.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.