MSU and state officials said they are preparing for the worst, as reports of swine flu cases continue to come in throughout the state.
Michigan lab workers are expecting lab results Wednesday afternoon determining whether five people in Ingham County with symptoms similar to those of swine flu have been infected, a county health official said.
Lab tests are being performed or scheduled for the other three possible Ingham County cases, said Marcus Cheatham, a county health department spokesman.
If the tests are inconclusive, which increases the likelihood that the virus is swine flu, the lab samples will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for review, Cheatham said.
At least one case has been confirmed in Michigan, raising concerns that the flu could spread throughout the state in the near future, said James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health.
The CDC confirmed a swine flu case Wednesday involving a Livingston County woman. A separate case in Ottawa county has been deemed as “probable” swine flu, and samples of the case are being sent to the CDC in Atlanta for confirmation.
“We’re being cautious,” McCurtis said. “We are asking people to help us in taking the proper steps to prevent any spreading.”
MSU is working with local and state officials to better prepare for the possibility of an outbreak at MSU, university spokesman Jason Cody said. He said the university has had a pandemic plan in place for several years, since the avian flu scare in 2003.
“Everyone is taking the proper steps to prevent an outbreak,” Cody said.
In the case of a pandemic, MSU likely would cancel classes, send students living on campus home and limit research done at the university, according to the MSU pandemic planning Web site.
University Physician Beth Alexander called for students to stay cautious in wake of the outbreak in an e-mailed letter sent to students Monday evening.
Symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, chills and fatigue. To avoid spreading the disease, students are urged to wash hands frequently, cover their nose and mouth when coughing and stay home and call a health care provider if they experience symptoms.
Swine disease expert and MSU professor Barbara Straw said genetic differences in the strain potentially could cause problems.
“It’s so different from normal flu; it will be more dangerous,” Straw said. “It’s so different that none of the current vaccines will be useful against it.”
A vaccine for swine flu hasn’t been developed yet, but medicine can be issued to treat those who test positively, Cheatham said. The state currently has mass amounts of the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza to counter an outbreak.
“People who have a bad case of the flu can get a prescription,” Cheatham said. “The question is, do we need to do something more, will that work, will that be enough or do we need to get a bigger supply of it?”
Four MSU students are studying in Mexico, where the virus is thought to have originated and 149 people have died, according to The Associated Press.
Cody said none of the four students have made plans to return early, but their classes have been canceled in response to the outbreak. Forty-six students still are expected to study abroad in Mexico this summer.
“As of now, all study abroad programs are still on,” Cody said.
“There are ongoing discussions with the school and officials on whether to continue with the programs.”
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Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced Tuesday that the state has partially activated its Emergency Operations Center, which will collaborate with local, state and federal agencies to monitor the situation and ensure a collaborative response to any swine flu cases.
As of Tuesday, more than 60 confirmed cases of the swine flu had been reported nationwide.
