In its daily briefing Saturday, the CDC said it expects the number of confirmed cases to rise rapidly over the next few days.
Already tests of stricken prep school students in New York show as many as 100 could be suffering from the virus, which appears to be a mutated form of the disease that usually affects pigs.
The New York City Health Department said it is investigating a cluster of respiratory illness at the school and has determined that at least eight students have probable human swine influenza. More than 100 of the school’s students were absent several days this week due to fever, sore throats and other flu-like symptoms.
“The Health Department has interviewed more than 100 students or their families, and all students have had mild symptoms; none have been hospitalized. Some family members have developed similar symptoms, suggesting spread in the family,” the department said in a statement.
The outbreak appears to have gotten its start in Mexico, where the government has put the death toll from the new strain of A/H1N1 virus at 20, down from the more than 60 that was reported earlier. However, more than 1,000 people are believed to have been sickened.
The CDC said the two cases in Kansas involve a husband and wife. The husband recently returned from a business trip to Mexico.
