May 1, 2009 2:15 pm US/Eastern
Possible H1N1 'Cluster' At Harvard Dental School
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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As a precaution, Harvards School of Dental Medicine will be closed Friday.
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The Harvard Dental Clinic will be closed through May 6 after Boston health officials learned a cluster of students are suffering from flu-like symptoms. Two students are now "probable" swine flu cases, and seven others have flu-like symptoms.
Boston health officials say the two unidentified people who have probable cases of
swine flu are at home and doing well.
The school is awaiting test results for one of the probable cases from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They pointed out that about 90 percent of "probable" cases end up with a confirmed case of swine flu, or H1N1.
According to Harvard Health Director Dr. David Rosenthal, one of the students considered a probable case came down with the flu last week. "There was history that he had been associated with someone who had returned from Mexico," said Rosenthal.
SCHOOL AND CLINIC CLOSED
As a precaution, classes and the associated clinic at the Harvard Dental School has been closed through May 6. Clinical duties of Harvard Medical School students have also been canceled through May 6.
Harvard officials said that some of the symptomatic students did see "small number" of patients while they were potentially contagious. They put the total number of patients at fewer than 20, and said those patients would be notified.
FOOD SERVICES
Food services at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health have also eliminated self-service food stands and are handing out hand sanitizers.
"The University made this decision in the best interest, until we're 100 percent that it is confirmed. A high percentage of the ones that were sent to the CDC in Atlanta turned out to be positive, so why wait any further," said Rosenthal.
Ann Scales of the Boston Public Health Commission said they requested only the clinic be closed but Harvard voluntarily canceled classes at the three schools. "Harvard is very proactive. They took the additional step to shut everything down today."
MAYOR - TAKE WARNING SERIOUSLY
Boston Mayor Tom Menino is urging residents in the city not to panic, but to take the swine flu warning seriously. City officials plan to hand out informational leaflets in neighborhoods. The city has set up a hotline for anyone feeling flu-like symptoms: 617-635-4500.
More Information Online...
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CDC Swine Flu Facts Sheet
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CDC Emergency Updates Via Twitter
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Swine Flu Twitter Live Search Results
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David Burnia's Swine Flu Watch On Twitter
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Google Map Of Suspected, Confirmed Cases
WBZ's Eileen Curran contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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