But nurses are still interviewing each of the three – a 34-year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl and a 52-year-old woman, in an effort to learn more about where they might have picked up the virus, said Shene Bowie, spokeswoman for the county public health department.
If confirmed, the three would bring to seven the number of people – all women and girls – that have contracted the swine flu, which has infected 3,009 people in 45 states and killed three in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. A 31-year-old Tracy woman, her infant daughter and a 7-year-old Linden girl have recovered from the swine flu, health officials said more than a week ago. A 33-year-old woman from Stockton was the fourth confirmed case in the county, officials said Tuesday.
Bowie said doctors at three separate locations sent in specimens for the three new cases. Two were private doctors in another was from the emergency room at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital.
The women are not related to each other, and as far as the health department knows, have not traveled to Mexico where outbreak of swine flu first occurred, Bowie said.
The number of cases is spreading, but that’s partly because tests results are lagging due to the overwhelming number of specimens sent in to be tested nationwide. So many are inundating public health officials, in fact, they’ve laid down priorities for which specimens will be tested first.
People who are in the hospital with symptoms will be tested first; followed by pregnant woman with flu symptoms; health care workers with the flu; and the first case in a high-risk setting, such as a prison or shelter.
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