The southern US State of Arkansas has eventually confirmed the first five cases of A/H1N1 flu statewide, the state's Department of Health said on Friday.
Four of the confirmed cases are US soldiers at Camp Robinson in central Arkansas, the department said, adding that the fifth case involves a school-age child in Walnut Ridge.
Officials of the department said 11 soldiers training at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock suffered flu-like symptoms. Four tested positive for the virus, four tested negative and three test results are pending. All 11 sick soldiers have been isolated.
The four confirmed cases involve two soldiers from New Jersey and two from Nevada. Officials described their symptoms as mild.
The department's announcement was the first confirmation of the disease in Arkansas.
"Once the first case was identified, steps were immediately taken to contain the spread of the illness we were dealing with," said Maj. Gen. Bill Wofford, adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard.
The soldiers were part of a class of 40 from out of state that had arrived at the base on Sunday for a two-week Air Force course, said Capt. Robin Tolliver, a physician's assistant at the base.
The class was staying in barracks separate from the rest of the population at the military base.
All the five cases were confirmed by a laboratory at the Arkansas Department of Health. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enabled states to test their own samples, clearing backlogs this week.
"We felt certain we would eventually see some cases of the novel A/H1N1 virus here in Arkansas," said Paul Halverson, the Health Department's director.
"As the result of these diagnoses, we will be monitoring the conditions of close contacts of the patients in an effort to slow the spread for as long as we can. The good news is that the cases we have been seeing in the United State for the most part have been relatively mild and treatable with antiviral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2009)
