Kansas officials: State has another swine flu case

Eds: UPDATES with additional background on new cases reported, comments from state health director about virus spreading; ADDS byline, Internet notes; May be led.

By JOHN MILBURN

Associated Press Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The state has another case of swine flu and it could indicated the virus is taking root, Kansas health officials said Monday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said state tests show that a child in Wyandotte County has the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still must verify that case before it can be considered confirmed.

The Wyandotte County case could bring the state's total up to six, including one probable case in Johnson County that is awaiting further testing.

The Wyandotte County case is notable because the child had not been to Mexico or in contact with anyone who has been to that country or is known to have the virus. The child was hospitalized but has since been released, the state health department said.

"This suggests the virus may be getting a foothold in that area," state health director Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips said.

He said the effects of the flu on Kansas patients have varied. "Not all cases of this flu are as mild as we had hoped," he added.

The Kansas outbreak began April 25 with confirmation that a couple in Dickinson County had the virus. Neither person required hospitalization.

Two other cases have been confirmed with state tests but not by the CDC, according to the Kansas health department.

One was an adult who is a Texas resident visiting Johnson County in the Kansas City area. That person was not hospitalized.

The other was a child in Sedgwick County, which is home to Wichita, the state's largest city. That child presumably was exposed to the virus while traveling outside Kansas where the virus was circulating.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has been using tests supplied by the CDC to determine whether a person might have swine flu. For now, the CDC must follow up with its own tests before the cases are considered to be confirmed. Once Kansas has five confirmed cases, it will no longer need the additional testing by the CDC, health department spokeswoman Maggie Thompson said.

Kansas has received 100,000 courses of Tamiflu and Relenza antivirals to treat swine flu cases, in addition to 300,000 courses the state had in its own stockpiles.

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On the Net:

Kansas Department of Health and Environment: http://www.kdheks.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov