14 Hoosiers contract flu from pigs

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The State Health Department says 14 Hoosiers have contracted the flu from pigs. That number could go up.

On Monday, State Fair officials ordered all pig owners with animals at the Fair to take the pigs home.

The decision was made after six pigs developed fevers. The pigs are tested to see if they have a flu virus.

As the summer has progressed, so have the numbers of people coming down with what is commonly referred to as swine flu. One of the latest victims is a little girl in Monroe County.

"She was vomiting, fever for three (to) four days. Fever of 104 and up," said Bloomington mom Kriste Ford. "My daughter went to the (Monroe County) Fair. She shows animals. She started Saturday, she went on Monday running a 104 fever. I took her to the doctor on Tuesday, they confirmed it was the influenza.”

As of Tuesday, the State Health Department confirmed 14 people in six Indiana counties tested positive for a type of swine flu called Variant Influenza A. Two of the confirmed cases are in Monroe County.

"My understanding to date, the illnesses have all been mild, people have recovered in the usual fashion. That's good news," said Monroe County Health Department Administrator Penny Caudill.

The virus spreads pig to human or human to pig. It does not appear to spread human to human.

"Variant Influenza A is in many ways like the seasonal flu. It's spread. It's a respiratory infection. Good hand washing — it seems like always what we are talking about — it goes back to good hand washing. That's one of the most important things," said Caudill.

The number of confirmed cases in Indiana could go up. Kriste Ford says she knows of at least 10 people who have come down with flu-like symptoms since the Monroe County Fair ended.

On Monday, she received a letter from the state's top veterinarian. It confirms a number of pigs at the Monroe County Fair tested positive for the flu.

State Fair officials say it will take a few days to determine if the six pigs that spiked a fever at the State Fair have the latest strain of swine flu.