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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Isles' swine flu cases rise to 30


By Loren Moreno
Advertiser Staff Writer

Four new cases of swine flu — including another student at 'Anuenue School — were reported on O'ahu yesterday.

'Anuenue, a 353-student Hawaiian-language immersion school in Palolo, has now been linked to at least 10 of the 30 Hawai'i cases.

Of the new cases reported yesterday, one is an adult with no relation to any of the previously reported cases, said Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the state Health Department.

Two are preschool children — one of whom has no association with any previous cases and another who is associated with a previous case, Okubo said.

She would not say whether the connection involving the pre-school child involves anyone at 'Anuenue.

All of the four new cases involve O'ahu residents and all of the patients are recovering at home, Okubo said. None of them has traveled recently, she said.

Nearly all of the cases reported so far have involved O'ahu residents. The lone exception was an adult from Maui County who contracted swine flu after traveling to Washington state.

The first three cases in Hawai'i — involving an Army couple and a school-age child — were diagnosed May 5.

Two more were confirmed on May 7 and another on May 8.

Since then, the numbers have risen more dramatically, with four on May 13; five on May 14; six on May 15; and five on Monday that were all linked to 'Anuenue.