Anchorage Daily News

A middle-age woman from Fairbanks is the first person in Alaska with a confirmed case of swine flu, but where she got it is a mystery.

State health officials said Thursday the woman, whose name was not revealed, had not traveled out of state before contracting the virus about two weeks ago. She had no known contact with anyone with the disease, and the source is unknown.

"We're trying to get that information," said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, the Alaska state epidemiologist. "It would not be surprising to me if she contracted it from somebody who was traveling to Alaska from another state, or possibly from another Alaskan who got it from traveling in the Lower 48, or it could possibly have just been circulating in Fairbanks or in Alaska for weeks and was under the radar screen."

The woman herself is now traveling in the Caribbean. State health officials spoke to her Thursday.

"She says she's feeling well and has fully recovered," McLaughlin said.

The United States now has more swine flu cases than any other country. It's spread mainly from person to person through coughing, sneezing or touching an object contaminated by a sick person, McLaughlin said.

Swine flu sickened a cruise-ship crew member recently aboard the Serenade of the Seas, which was in Alaska, but the illness developed outside the state, so it was not considered Alaska's first case. There is no indication the case on board the cruise ship is related to the case in Fairbanks, McLaughlin said.

He said the woman does not work outside the home and lives with three family members who have not contracted the virus. However, there likely are implications for the rest of the state, he said.

"It's highly likely it's circulating in Fairbanks and possibly elsewhere in the state," McLaughlin said.

There may have been a lag in the diagnosis because the woman also suffers from allergies. She traveled out of state one week ago but finally saw her health care provider May 21.

She was diagnosed with a cold, McLaughlin said, but her health care provider decided that because she had a fever, she should be tested for flu.

A "rapid influenza test" was negative but the health care provider also obtained a culture. A test on the culture proved positive Wednesday night at the Alaska State Public Health Virology Lab in Fairbanks, McLaughlin said.

People are thought to be contagious from one day before the onset of symptoms until seven days after, he said. The symptoms are the same as seasonal flu: fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

The severity of the swine flu -- or H1N1 -- strain seems to be similar to seasonal influenza, he said, and people at risk for more severe illnesses include people older than 65, younger than 5, pregnant women and people with other medical conditions. Curiously, though, there have been few cases and no deaths in people older than 64, McLaughlin said.

If ill, people should cover their nose with tissue when they cough or sneeze, then immediately throw the tissue in the trash.

The best way to avoid contracting the virus, he said, is to wash hands frequently or use hand sanitizer and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.

The virus has sickened more than 13,000 people in 48 countries and been linked to more than 100 deaths worldwide, with the majority of the fatalities in Mexico. U.S. health officials have reported more than 8,500 probable and confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States, including 12 deaths and more than 500 hospitalizations.

Scientists are working on developing a vaccine for the flu but it likely won't be ready until the fall, said Dr. Jay Butler, Alaska's chief medical officer.

Alaska was the 49th state to have a confirmed case. Only West Virginia had no confirmed cases as of Thursday.

"We all knew is was coming," McLaughlin said. "It was just a matter of when."

Investigative work will continue to try to find the source, as well as to find who the woman may have met during the contagious stage.

Terry Schmidt, director of the virology lab in Fairbanks, said 516 specimens had been tested.

Daily News/adn.com reporter Megan Holland contributed to this story. She can be reached at mholland@adn.com or 257-4343.

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