Confirmed H1N1 Cases On Rise In Mid-Michigan - News Story - WNEM ...

SAGINAW, Mich. -- The first confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu are surfacing this season, starting in Saginaw.

Two patients have been hospitalized with the virus at Covenant Hospital. Both cases are in adults, not children.

A spokesman said employees are doing everything they can to keep patients and staff H1N1-free.

�The two patients who are at Covenant right now who are confirmed as H1N1 cases are being held and treated in isolation,� said Matt McNabb, a Covenant Hospital spokesman.

�Our workers that are caring for those patients are using personal protection equipment, including masks, so we can prevent the spread of H1N1 to other patients and employees at Covenant.�

The hospital announced special visitation guidelines last week which only allow one healthy adult per patient is allowed to visit a room at a time.

The Linden School District also announced several confirmed cases of H1N1 Monday. Three students from the same family have tested positive for the virus in that district.

That student has a sibling attending Cook Elementary. and although neither school will be closed, school officials said both are being disinfected.

Meanwhile, WNEM TV5 has learned the Midland Academy, in Midland, is shutting down Tuesday and Wednesday because of multiple cases of the flu.

The school would not say if the H1N1 virus was the reason for the shutdown.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 percent of the people who have been hospitalized for the H1N1 virus have already had one or more medical conditions previously, leaving them with a weakened immune system and making them a target for the flu.

Covenant�s Dr. Brian Schroeder said this is also the case for a majority of the people dying from H1N1.

�A lot of the folks that have died...

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