15 of 89 sickened AFA students diagnosed with swine flu

Fifteen members of the Air Force Academy’s incoming freshman class have been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, according to early lab test results, making it the largest single outbreak of swine flu in Colorado.

It’s likely that more cases will be diagnosed: Eighty-nine students, most of them doolies, have exhibited flu-like symptoms in recent days, and seasonal influenza does not typically appear until fall. Results of their tests are pending.

No one has been hospitalized, but the sick students have been isolated in an academy dorm, and academy officials are hopeful the outbreak has peaked because only one new case emerged on Friday.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” said Col. Ken Knight, the top doctor at the academy.

Test results of the 15 H1N1 cases have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the clearinghouse for U.S. cases. The CDC provides official confirmation of cases.

Because of the outbreak, academy officials canceled today’s Doolie Day Out, a much-anticipated event that would have allowed the 1,344 freshman students to leave the campus and the grind of basic training to spend time with sponsor families.

But a trip to Jack’s Valley, in which freshmen undergo military field training, is still planned to begin Monday for those well enough to participate. Medical staff members attend the training.

No restrictions are being placed on visitors to the academy.

At a press conference Friday, spokesman Brett Ashworth said the academy tried to inform everyone about the outbreak in a timely manner.

It was Tuesday night before officials suspected what was going on, and officials started to spread the word.

“People who have direct daily contact with the cadets knew sooner,” he said.

An academy-wide announcement went on Thursday.

There have been 176 confirmed or probable cases of the virus in Colorado, but this represents the most connected to any single outbreak, said Mark Salley, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The academy’s outbreak increased El Paso County’s total cases by 75 percent, from 20 to 35.

Bill Reed of The Gazette contributed to this report.
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