Two confirmed case of swine flu in Carson

Two Carson City minors have contracted the swine flu.

The Nevada State Health Lab confirmed the city's first two cases of the virus, known as the H1N1 flu, Wednesday, the city said in a statement.

One is a fourth-grade student at Mark Twain Elemen-tary, said Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes. The student is staying home from school, he said.

The school district will follow the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and not close the school, Stokes said.

The district is taking precautions by sending home sick students and encouraging good hygiene, Stokes said. The district is advising parents about the two cases, he said.

"We're trying to be careful without causing too much alarm," he said.

Stokes declined to provide the student's name, age or sex.

The other infected minor is not in the school district, according to the city. Carson City Health Director Marena Works declined to provide the child's name, age or sex.

Both have recovered from their mild cases of swine flu, the city said. Works said neither was hospitalized.

People should be careful not to overreact to flu reports, Works said.

The city has no pending cases waiting to be tested for the flu, she said.

"This isn't any more severe than the seasonal flu," Works said.

Stacy Lauderbaugh, president of the Mark Twain Parent Teacher Association, said she was surprised that her daughter's school had a case of swine flu, but she's "not going to get hysterical about it."

Her third-grade daughter, Delany, is safe despite some people's fears, she said.

"I'm not going to keep my child home and put a mask on her," Lauderbaugh said.

Five other cases of the flu have been confirmed in Nevada since the first case was reported in the state April 29.

Nationwide, 642 cases have been confirmed since the flu was reported last month, according to the CDC. Two people in Texas have died from the virus.