Health officials announced the first three probable cases of swine flu have surfaced in Wisconsin Wednesday, the same day the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to its second-highest level.
An adult and child in Milwaukee and another adult in Adams County have tested probable for the virus. Their samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease control in Atlanta for confirmation.
According to state health officer Dr. Seth Foldy, it is rare for a case categorized as ""probable"" not to be confirmed as the swine flu.
In response to these cases, four Milwaukee public schools will be closed until further notice, a move Foldy said was taken ""out of abundance of caution.""
Wednesday also marked the first swine flu death in the United States, a 22-month child in Texas, and the amount of confirmed cases in the U.S. grew to 91.
According to Foldy, the risk of this disease of the average Wisconsinite is very low, as only 3 of 140 tests performed came back probable.
After the outbreak of the swine flu in Mexico last week, UW-Madison officials advised students and faculty against traveling to the country. However, student programs scheduled to leave for Mexico in the upcoming weeks have not been canceled. The International Emergency Response Committee will make recommendations to UW-Madison about the programs May 7.
Health officials from the university are currently tracking the flu and preparing for an outbreak closer to campus by activating their influenza plan. The WiscAlert system will no longer be used to distribute information regarding the flu, but the e-mail alias pandemicinfo@mhub.uwpd.wisc.edu will send updates.
Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement Wisconsin is ranked as one of the states that is best-prepared for the swine flu.
""This is a time to use precaution, use common sense and closely follow the direction of our state and local health officials,"" he said.
—Erin Banco contributed to this report
