None of Altoona Regional Health System's recent flu patients have swine flu, the hospital reported Monday.
State Department of Health tests were negative on specimens from eight patients - all those whom initial tests showed with Type-A flu.
"Good news," Chief Operations Officer Ron McConnell said.
The hospital submitted specimens from all Type-A patients to the state for further testing after the onset of swine flu concerns, hospital spokesman Dave Cuzzolina said.
Initially, the state passed on those it found to be of "unknown" subtype to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further tests, until the volume of specimens overwhelmed the CDC, state Health spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said.
After that, the states did their own tests with kits sent by the CDC.
Fact Box
When to go to the hospital:
For children:
Fast breathing, trouble breathing;
Bluish skin;
Flu-like symptoms that leave and return with a worse cough;
Fever with rash;
They aren't drinking much;
They're hard to wake or won't interact;
They're so irritable you can't hold them.
For adults:
Trouble breathing or shortness of breath;
Pain or pressure in chest or abdomen;
Sudden dizziness or confusion;
Severe or persistent vomiting.
Source:?Altoona Regional Health System
While hospitals reported all Type-A patients, they only sent selected samples to the state for further testing based on answers to the department's questions about them, Cuzzolina said.
Eventually, however, the state ordered hospitals to send all Type-A samples for testing, including those it said previously didn't need to come, he said.
The state's single confirmed case of swine flu was reported Sunday. The 31-year-old man from Montgomery County had recently arrived from Mexico but has recovered.
State health officials said that as of late Thursday afternoon, they are investigating four possible cases in Philadelphia, two in Montgomery County and one each in Bucks, Lycoming, Luzerne and Allegheny counties.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
