FLU UPDATE

Ripon (WFRV) - Ripon College now has a confirmed case of the H1N1 flu, but the school does not expect to shut down. Officials at Ripon College say they were notified of the confirmed case by the Fond du Lac County Health Department Thursday evening, but decided that closing the campus was not necessary. School officials are urging all campus personnel who show signs of the flu to stay home, until the symptoms subside. The case is the only confirmed case of H1N1 in Fond du Lac County. So far, there have been 298 confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu in the state of Wisconsin.

Ripon College Student Confirmed with H1N1 Virus, Another Probable - WBAY-TV
Officials say a student at Ripon College contracted the H1N1 influenza virus. It's the first confirmed case of H1N1 in Fond du Lac County. The county health department was notified Thursday evening, according to Ripon College's web site. Authorities aren't saying if the student is a man or a woman. They say the student most likely contracted the virus in the Milwaukee or Minneapolis area.

Health officials also say that person was in contact with another student who has now tested probable for the virus. Both students are in isolation, and neither required hospitalization. The college will not close. Officials are working to alert students, faculty, and staff on the campus about what they should do if they start feeling sick.

"We're also looking for students to be monitoring their own health and watching for any signs or symptoms of H1N1 and reporting that to the... college student health services," Fond du Lac County health officer Diane Cappozzo said. College Health Services will be open more hours. So far, 87 people from the Fond du Lac area have been tested for the swine flu virus and 51 tests came back negative. Results of the 36 others are pending.

Late Friday afternoon, the state health department said the number of confirmed H1N1 cases in Wisconsin jumped to 298. The health department says the increase this week is due to more testing capability for H1N1 at the State Laboratory of Hygiene, Milwaukee Health Department, and Midwest Respiratory Virus Program in Milwaukee. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Wisconsin has more confirmed cases than any other state except Illinois.

Nationally, Friday morning the CDC was aware of 1,640 confirmed cases in 43 states.

DE PERE (WFRV) Saint Norbert College in De Pere is reporting its first confirmed cases of the H1N1 or Swine Flu virus. In a release posted on the college's website, officials say two students have tested positive for the virus. Officials say the students have been off campus since they underwent testing earlier this week. Saint Norbert officials say they have been in touch with those who were in contact with the students. They also say they are following the college's emergency response plan for such an incident. The college will remain open for now.