Reported cases of swine flu in Vicksburg public schools have risen to 19, with two recovered, district nurse coordinator Cindy Nash said today.

Twelve schools have reported students with the H1N1 or swine flu virus, an increase of three schools and eight students listed Monday.

More information

• Vicksburg Warren School District provides updated information

• County and state

• Centers for Disease Control

Current cases and schools are: Bovina Elementary, 3 students; Bowmar Avenue Elementary, 1; Dana Road Elementary, 1; Redwood Elementary, 2; Sherman Avenue Elementary, 2; South Park Elementary, 1; Warrenton Elementary, 1; Vicksburg Intermediate, 1; Warren Central Intermediate, 1; Warren Central Junior High, 2; Vicksburg High School, 1; and Warren Central High School, 1.

Two students at Warrenton Elementary were removed from the list, having recovered and returned to school.

“We have a paper going home today to parents of all 9,000 students,” Nash said. The information includes symptoms, cases in the schools, how they are being monitored, prevention and care, she said.

No cases have been reported at Vicksburg Catholic schools or at Porters Chapel Academy.

The Mississippi Department of Health remains the only state agency that can confirm the virus through tests.

“We’re taking the word of the parents that their kids have the illness,” Superintendent Dr. James Price said today.

Updated Monday, the state health department continues to show four confirmed cases of the flu in Warren County.

At River Region Medical Center, the number of people with “flu-like symptoms” in the emergency room has grown slightly recently, said Diane Gawronski, vice president of marketing and business development. Some were diagnosed with H1N1; others, with  seasonal flu, she said.

Nash stressed that even if a child’s fever goes down with medication he or she needs to be kept at home until it dips below 100 without medication.

CDC guidelines call for teachers to be alert and take precautions, but not for school closures.

Swine flu cases have been reported in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with a total of 474 deaths.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com