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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 28, 2009

Swine flu cases climb to 71


By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Thirteen new cases of swine flu were confirmed on O'ahu yesterday, bringing the statewide total to 71.

One of the new cases is an infant who had contact with a previous patient. Five are adults. And seven are school-age children, health officials said.

Five of the school-age children each attend different schools — 'Iliahi Elementary in Wahiawa, Kalani High School, Kipapa Elementary in Mililani, Nanakuli Elementary and Niu Valley Middle School, the state Department of Education said.

'Iliahi Elementary also had a swine flu case reported on Tuesday.

Three of the school-age children have not been linked to any previous cases. Two others have been in contact with swine flu patients and a determination for the other two are pending, health officials said.

One of the five adults became infected out of state and another had contact with a previous swine flu patient, health officials said.

Nearly all of Hawai'i's 71 cases have involved O'ahu residents, beginning with an Army couple and an unrelated child on May 5.

The exceptions have been two school-age children on the Big Island who are not attending school and an adult from Maui who was infected in Washington state.

Thirty of the 71 cases have involved children attending O'ahu public schools, the Department of Education said.

Ten school-age children and an adult were from 'Anuenue School in Palolo. But no new swine flu cases have been connected to 'Anuenue since May 20.

On the Mainland, a second person in Illinois has died from complications of swine flu — pushing the world's death toll past 100.

Illinois officials said the latest victim was a woman from northwest suburban Cook County who had other medical problems that might have made her illness more severe.

She represented the 15th U.S. death and the 101st worldwide linked to the virus that has sickened more than 12,000 people. The deaths of two more New Yorkers were linked Tuesday to swine flu.

Elsewhere, 83 deaths in Mexico, two in Canada and one in Costa Rica have now been linked to swine flu.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.