4 suspected cases of swine flu in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Health officials say they have investigated four suspected cases of the flu virus in Marion County.

The mayor of Indianapolis and the county's top health official say the consensus is that Marion County will see cases of swine flu. But they don't want people to be alarmed.

"We are a community that is used to coming together," said Mayor Greg Ballard.

The mayor and Dr. Virginia Caine, Director of the Marion County Health Department don't want people to panic, but to be ready.

"We ask the public to be aware and to remain calm," said Ballard.

To answer the public's questions about the flu, the county has set up a Swine Flu Help Line (317) 221-3366. By mid-day, the nurses and other health educators staffing the hot line had received 500 calls.

"The biggest calls have come from people wondering whether or not they should eat pork," said Collette DuValle of the Marion County Health Department. "There's also been concerns from those who might be doing some traveling, and overall just some reassurance in talking with health officials about symptoms."

There is now some measurable cause for concern in Marion County. Health officials have investigated four possible cases.

"Two of them, which we just heard today, have been proven negative," said Dr. Caine. "But we have two others that are in the pipeline at CDC that we consider probable and waiting to hear."

Dr. Caine and Mayor Ballard say the city is concerned about the huge events coming up in May, the Mini-Marathon and the Indianapolis 500 that could provide extra opportunities for the virus to spread.

"I think we're going to get over 300,000 individuals coming to the city," said Dr. Caine. "The mayor and the city emergency operations - we're looking at this very, very carefully."

Dr. Caine said that she and the mayor have the authority to require quarantines of anyone who does indeed have the virus. Both Dr. Caine and the mayor re-iterated the importance of hand washing as a means of preventing the spread of the virus.