A student at St. Patrick's Parochial School in Bedford is being tested for swine flu, according to a letter sent home to parents Thursday.
?We are all in the dark right now, but we wanted to let parents know this child is being tested for the swine flu,? says Msgr. George Thompson. ?We don?t have the results yet.?
In total, 165 students attend St. Patrick?s school. School officials say the child?s classroom has already been sanitized and the school is remaining open until test results come back.
County health officials warned Thursday it is only a matter of time before swine flu cases are confirmed in Westchester County, and they are not ruling out the possibility of fatalities. During a news conference, Westchester County Executive Andy Spano said there are no confirmed cases of the potentially deadly virus yet. However, Health Commissioner Joshua Lipsman predicted that it is soon about to change.
"It's even possible we may have deaths in Westchester from the swine flu," Lipsman said.
Health experts are also monitoring two different family members of students or faculty at the Rye School for Leadership, where several came down with high fever and showed other symptoms consistent with the H1N1 virus. The school closed Monday to be disinfected.
Another suspected case involves an 85-year-old woman from Mount Kisco.
"We'll know within 24 to 48 hours whether it's swine flu," Lipsman said.
County officials urge anyone who is ill to stay home from school or work so as not to spread the infection to others.
The Centers for Disease Control reported the number of swine flu cases in the United States has topped 100, with confirmed cases in at least 16 states.