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Ada County baby girl likely has H1N1 swine flu

The infant attended a Meridian day-care center, but no one there is getting treatment yet.

BY COLLEEN LAMAY - clamay@idahostatesman.com

Published: 05/06/09

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FLU HITS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 5 HARDEST

Call the doctor if your child:

® Develops a fever of more than 100.4 degrees in the first 3 months of life, at least 101 degrees between 3 and 6 months of age, or 103 degrees or more after 6 months of age.

® Has trouble breathing, appears to have ear or face pain, or looks very ill. Some children develop complications such as pneumonia.

® Has a cough that worsens or lasts more than a week.

® Evidence shows a majority of U.S. cases are in children younger than 18. The only U.S. death from swine flu was a toddler two died in Texas.

® So far, the H1N1 flu appears no more virulent than the flu strains that normally hit each winter.

® If you have questions, call the swine flu hot line at the Central District Health Department from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The number is 321-2222. A recorded message is available after regular business hours.

The case is likely the first of many in the Treasure Valley, health officials say.

The baby's worried parents took their daughter to a doctor around April 30 because of a high fever.

The girl, who is less than a year old, is recovering without hospitalization. The big question is: Who gave it to her?

Initial interviews showed the family had no history of travel to outbreak areas and no known contact with people who did, health authorities said.

The prospect that the Treasure Valley could be growing its own cases is worrisome, but it's too early to assume that is the case, said Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist. Public health officials should know more Wednesday, she said.

Officials declined to name the day-care center or the family. They said reports so far indicate it was not an in-home day care.

The infant may have attended day care only one day a week, said Dave Fotsch, spokesman for the Central District Health Department in Boise. "Apparently this particular day care has an infant room, and we need to see what the setup was like," he said.

An initial throat swab culture at the Idaho State Laboratory turned up no sign of common human flu. That makes the little girl's illness a probable case of H1N1, often called swine flu.

The sample was sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing to determine whether she has the H1N1 flu.

The child's parents are taking antiviral medications to ward off the flu, a Central District Health official said.

On Sunday, the CDC confirmed H1N1 infection in a Kootenai County woman in her 60s who had recently traveled to Texas. The woman was not hospitalized and has recovered.

An additional 162 samples from Idaho residents have tested negative, which means they don't have H1N1 flu. Eighteen cases are under investigation.

Colleen LaMay: 377-6448

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