Infectious disease specialist: additional cases should be expected

Minnesota health officials say a probable case of swine flu has been discovered in Cold Spring. Rocori Middle School and St. Boniface School have been closed as a result. The sample has been sent to the Centers for Disease Control to be confirmed.

In an e-mail to parents, Rocori Superintendent Scott Staska said he became aware of the case late last night. He said an individual from Rocori Middle School had experienced flu-like symptoms that were "not alarming," and that the individual was "recovering without complications."

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, who said people shouldn't panic.

"It's just exactly what we've been saying for the last week...if you had anybody going to Mexico in your state over the past month, you surely could expect cases of swine flu back in your state," Osterholm said. "If that's the case here, that's fully expected. We're going to see more severe cases in this country, that's fully expected, and nothing material has changed in the last week."

The health department confirmed the virus as type A influenza, but said the strain can't be identified using lab tests available to it.

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