Four confirmed H1N1 flu cases in Lane Co.; four schools close

Suspected swine flu samples are tested at the Washington State Public Health Laboratories Thursday, April 30, 2009, at the Washington State Public Health Laboratories in Shoreline, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

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Story Created: May 4, 2009 at 2:14 PM PST

Story Updated: May 5, 2009 at 8:35 AM PST

By KVAL News

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Two confirmed cases of H1N1 flu and a probable case, all with connections to schools, have prompted officials to close four Lane County schools. All told, Lane County has four of the state's 17 confirmed cases of the flu, also known as swine flu.

A confirmed case in an elementary student at a private school in Lane County has prompted county health officials and the school administration to cancel classes until at least May 11.

A confirmed case in a middle school staff member and a probable case in an elementary school student prompted three schools to close Tuesday as a precaution.

School closures

The closure of the private non-profit Oak Hill School affects all 138 students in grades K-12. An elementary age student there is among the four Lane County residents with a confirmed case of H1N1 flu, the troublesome bug also called swine flu.

The three public school closures -- Kelly Middle School, Charlemagne at Fox Hollow and Harris Eastside Elementary School -- are just for one day, according to the county health department.

A staff member at Kelly is one of the county's four confirmed cases of swine flu. A student at Harris Eastside is still a probable case.

Elsewhere in Oregon, Western Oregon University plans to re-open on Tuesday after a possible case of swine flu prompted officials to close the campus. That case has since been confirmed.

Statewide, there are now 17 confirmed cases, according to Gene Evans with the Oregon Department of Human Services.

A teen from Multnomah County remains the only hospitalized case of H1N1 flu in Oregon.

"She's doing better, and she's out of ICU," Evans said.

State only to report confirmed cases

Evans said that from now own, DHS will only report confirmed cases, not probable or suspected.

The state lab is now equipped to deal with swine flu testing, meaning they can now turn around test results in the same day rather than sending samples to a federal lab for testing.

Cases by county