Nearly 130 calls came in to Baltimore County’s swine flu hotline in its first seven hours, but none has resulted in additional suspected swine flu cases, county Health Officer Gregory Branch said.

“None have risen to that level,” Branch said during a Thursday afternoon health department news conference in Towson.

Meanwhile, state officials announced at mid-afternoon Thursday that a fourth case of probable swine flu had been diagnosed in the county.

County officials opened the hotline Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and again today at 9 a.m.
 
As of noon Thursday, health department workers had taken about 51 calls from doctors and other health-care providers who had concerns about patients. An additional 77 calls were from concerned residents, Branch said.

Because symptoms of the swine flu are exactly the same as for seasonal varieties, Branch said, county residents who are concerned they might have the flu should call their doctors or the county hotline before going to a hospital.

“We’ll ask them some questions to see how they line up for being at risk for the swine flu,” Branch said.

The county and the state are tracking eight probable swine flu cases in Maryland, including four from Baltimore County.

Samples from the eight patients were tested by the state and confirmed to be influenza cases — but will require additional testing to determine if they are indeed swine flu cases. Those samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

In announcing two new cases Thursday, state officials said one case was a 43-year-old Baltimore County woman, The other new case is from Montgomery County.

A Milford Mill Academy student and a member of that student’s family are among the probable cases. Health officials said at least one of the family members recently traveled to Mexico, where the virus originated.

Another county resident, identified only as being from northern Baltimore County, recently returned from a trip to an unidentified Caribbean island.

Branch said several parents who have children at Milford Mill Academy have called and asked for a “super cleaning” of the school.

The virus has an incubation period of 2-7 days. Six days have passed since the student showed symptoms and since then there have been no new cases reported at the school.

“There is no indication that a super cleaning is needed at this time,” Branch said. “The current daily cleaning is more than sufficient.”

Health officials continue to monitor absences at the school and ask parents to call the school if their child is going to miss school because of sickness. So far, only one absence has been reported and that student clearly did not have the flu, Branch said.

Information on the swine flu can be found on the state's Web site  or by calling the Baltimore County Health Department Flu Hotline at 410-887-2243.

This story has been updated.

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