At least 2 more Coloradans stricken with swine flu

DENVER - At least two more cases of swine flu were confirmed in Colorado on Monday, bringing the state total to six.

State officials said one case is in Eagle County in the mountains about 90 miles west of Denver and the other is in Adams County, just northeast of Denver.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a third new case on Monday, which would bring Colorado's total to seven, but the state Department of Public Health and Environment says that person is being retested.

The Eagle County patient is Colorado's first outside the Denver area. He is in his late teens and is recovering, and he wasn't hospitalized, the Eagle County Public Health Department said. He isn't a student, officials said.

The Adams County patient is a 22-year-old man who is recovering at home and wasn't hospitalized, the Tri-County Health Department said.

The CDC says 286 cases of swine flu have been confirmed nationwide, including the Colorado case that's being retested.

The state health department said it plans to start doing swine flu tests in Colorado by midweek, instead of sending samples to the CDC. That would speed the process of confirming whether someone has the illness.

The previously confirmed Colorado cases included two in Jefferson County and one each in Douglas and Arapahoe counties.

One of the Jefferson County cases is a middle-school-age boy who attends Excel Academy in Arvada. Jefferson County Public Schools officials closed the school for a week to help prevent the illness from spreading.

The school was closed last week for spring break, and the infected student has not been to school since becoming ill, officials said.