Kansas officials confirm two flu cases
(Updates with details, comments from state health officials, changes dateline)
* One patient had recently traveled to Mexico
* Neither Kansas patient hospitalized
By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, April 25 (Reuters) - Two Kansans have been sickened by a new flu that health officials fear could turn into a pandemic, one after traveling to Mexico, officials said on Saturday.
They became ill with the same unique H1N1 strain of swine flu that has been identified in Mexico, California and Texas.
"Two cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Kansas involving two adults residing in the same household in Dickinson County," the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a statement.
Neither has become ill enough to be hospitalized, though one of the patients is still sick and being treated.
"We are working closely with health agencies at all levels and are continuing to monitor these cases. We are taking this situation very seriously," said Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, a director with the Kansas state health department.
Earlier on Saturday, New York City health officials said they had eight probable cases.
Health officials across the United States are testing for the new and unusual strain of H1N1 swine flu that is suspected of killing up to 68 people in Mexico and has caused mild illness in at least eight people in the United States. [ID:nN24462379]
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern." (For full coverage of the flu outbreak, click on [nFLU]) (Reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by Xavier Briand)
* One patient had recently traveled to Mexico
* Neither Kansas patient hospitalized
By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, April 25 (Reuters) - Two Kansans have been sickened by a new flu that health officials fear could turn into a pandemic, one after traveling to Mexico, officials said on Saturday.
They became ill with the same unique H1N1 strain of swine flu that has been identified in Mexico, California and Texas.
"Two cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Kansas involving two adults residing in the same household in Dickinson County," the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a statement.
Neither has become ill enough to be hospitalized, though one of the patients is still sick and being treated.
"We are working closely with health agencies at all levels and are continuing to monitor these cases. We are taking this situation very seriously," said Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, a director with the Kansas state health department.
Earlier on Saturday, New York City health officials said they had eight probable cases.
Health officials across the United States are testing for the new and unusual strain of H1N1 swine flu that is suspected of killing up to 68 people in Mexico and has caused mild illness in at least eight people in the United States. [ID:nN24462379]
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern." (For full coverage of the flu outbreak, click on [nFLU]) (Reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by Xavier Briand)
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