Swine Flu in Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg County has its first confirmed case of swine flu.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department spoke about its first case this morning at a 10:30a.m. news conference.

The elementary school student contracted the swine flu when the family visited New York Memorial Day weekend, said Dr. Stephen Keener. The child was well on Friday, but fell ill on Monday when the family returned by car to their home in Mecklenburg County.

The child was in contact with an ill person in New York, but Keener could not confirm if that person had the swine flu.

The child did not go to school and was admitted to Carolinas Medical Center on Wednesday. The child has since been discharged. The child is isolated at home, Keener said.

"There is no intervention that needs to be done with the school because there was no exposure at the school," Keener said. It is not known what school the child attends.

The child has only had close contact with her parents. So far the parents have not shown any symptoms.

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North Carolina now has 15 total cases of swine flu, although the state still has far fewer cases than some of its neighbors. Federal health officials have counted about 9,000 confirmed swine flu cases nationwide.

South Carolina officials report 37 people have been diagnosed since the first case in the state was confirmed in late April. A handful were hospitalized, but no one has died. Nearly 300 people suspected of having the virus were asked to stay home under voluntary isolation for up to a week.

Most of the cases were linked to a private school in Newberry whose students had returned April 20 from a trip to Mexico.

Officials say the voluntary quarantines and quick dispensing of medicine helped contain the virus in South Carolina.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked the virus to 15 deaths in the United States.