Apr 29, 2009 6:47 pm US/Eastern
2 Lowell Brothers Test Positive For Swine Flu
LOWELL (WBZ) ―
Two young siblings in Massachusetts who became sick after a trip to Mexico have tested positive for swine flu, according to the Department of Public Health.
The brothers, ages 9 and 13 from Lowell, are the first confirmed cases in New England.
Read: Swine Flu: What You Need To Know
According to the DPH, the children had "mild cases" of swine flu, are not hospitalized and are recovering. "They're home recovering… They're doing fine," said Frank Singleton of the Health Department.
Local health officials say there is no concern the children spread the illness at their school, The Immaculate Conception School in Lowell, because they got sick when they came home from vacation and never returned to classes. "They never got to school and there was never an issue with the school, either private or public," said Singleton. "We have not had any indication that anybody during the period of time before they were seen by their physicians and put into basically isolation in their home have caused any secondary transmission of any flu symptoms."
COMMUNITY ON EDGE
In the boys' neighborhood and at their school, classmates and friends say they are stunned that the swine flu is hitting so close to home, but they are grateful to hear that the boys are going to be ok.
Mark Giurleo says, "I'm just surprised, but anyone can take a vacation and pick something up. It's the world we live in. Everything's interconnected. His son, Trent, who's in eighth grade at the school says, "I'm sad they got sick and hope no one else gets it."
His brother Matthew added, "I hope those people that have it get better."
Neighbors, like the LaBranches say they are a little nervous, because one of the boys was out playing this weekend before he got sick. But Pamela LaBranche says she's not keeping her kids indoors. I know if they start getting sick, I'll take them to a pediatrician right away.
LaBranche says she believes neighbors should be notified.
"I think the neighbors should know about it. Especially the immediate neighbors. We should know about it, and no one has said anything to us," she said.
Lowell health officials say patient confidential is a concern, and instead of notifying neighbors and the school, they are going individually though the people the boys say they had close contact with.
Both students were enrolled in private school. Their mother is an aide in a public school, but was not at work because she was home caring for the boys.
Read: State, Health Department Prepared For Swine Flu
The boys have been treated by their physicians and are on anti-viral medication. "It's a seven-day course now they're on, and they're almost through now, because if they got sick Thursday and Sunday, they should be recovering by this weekend," Singleton explained.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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