Swine flu may have hit Milwaukee

Not trying to alarm anyone; just wanting to inform. However, it looks like Milwaukee may have its first cases of swine flu:

Officials announced Thursday evening that at least two probable cases of swine flu have been identified in Milwaukee and said four city schools will be closed through the end of the week.

One adult and one child in the city are believed to have swine flu, Bevan D. Baker, Milwaukee’s health commissioner, said during a news conference. A third probable case was identified in Adams County, officials said.

A number of children with connections to the two cases are exhibiting symptoms of swine flu, Baker said. Those children attend various Milwaukee Public Schools, Baker said.

Officials said the following schools will be closed Thursday and Friday:

• Mitchell Street School, 1728 S. 23rd St.
• Riverside High School, 1615 E. Locust St.
• Clement Avenue School, 3666 S. Clement Ave.
• Rogers Street Academy, 2430 W. Rogers St.

It’s important to keep in mind that the suspected cases of swine flu in Milwaukee are just suspected cases; they haven’t actually been confirmed as positively being swine flu.

UPDATE: The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to 5, its second-highest level Wednesday, warning of widespread human infection from the swine flu outbreak that originated in Mexico. The decision by the WHO to raise the alert on its 6-point scale indicated that all countries should “immediately” activate pandemic preparedness plans.