MADISON, Wis. -- State public health officials said Saturday that the number of probable swine flu cases in Wisconsin now stands at 66.

VIDEO: Rock County Responds To Probable Case | VIDEO: Dane County Officials Watching For Possible Swine Flu Cases

State health officer Dr. Seth Foldy told reporters Saturday afternoon that most of the cases appear to be mild.

Earlier on Saturday, the state Department of Health Services said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three cases of swine flu in Wisconsin. They are the state's first confirmed cases of the disease.

"The confirmation does not come as a surprise to us," said Dr. Foldy. "It simply underscores the actions that we have already taken and the recommendations we have already issued to keep people healthy."

Two confirmed cases are in the city of Milwaukee, and the third is in Adams County.

A health department statement said the cases were announced as probable on Wednesday but not confirmed as swine flu by the CDC until Saturday.

As of Saturday, 430 cases have been submitted for testing in the state, and 25, or 7 percent, have resulted in probable swine flu cases. But 339 cases have already come back negative for the swine flu.

Besides those three confirmed cases, the state had previously reported 11 probable cases. Foldy said the increase doesn't come as a surprise to health officials and isn't cause for panic. He is recommending that people follow common-sense personal hygiene habits.

Foldy said he doesn't know how the new cases are sorted in terms of age and gender, but they appear to be in or near counties where previous cases were reported. Most are in southeastern Wisconsin, in Ozaukee, Rock, Sheboygan and Waukesha counties.

Most of the Wisconsin cases involve people who recently traveled to Mexico. Nationwide, there have been 141 confirmed cases, led by New York with 50 and Texas with 28. There has been one death.

Gov. Jim Doyle declared a public health emergency on Thursday after more probable cases of swine flu were identified in the state.

In Waukesha County, authorities have reported at least three probable cases of swine flu and closed three schools for at least a week. Julianne Klimetz, of the Waukesha County Department of Public Health, said Friday all three cases are mild, and none of the patients have been hospitalized.

Klimetz said one person is a student at Oconomowoc High School. That school be closed until May 8 or further notice. She said Nature Hill and Silver Lake intermediate schools also will be closed because they use the same bus system. Klimetz said the student recently visited an area of Mexico where infections have been reported.

Rock County Responds To Probable Case

Rock County is responding to its first probable case of the swine flu.

Rock County Public Health Officer Karen Cain said the case there involves an adult male who had returned from Mexico on Sunday and began feeling symptoms of swine flu, which the World Health Organization is now calling H1N1.

It's the reason urgent care centers are preparing for a second wave of patients.

"I think it just makes us more aware that it is upon us now," said Dr. Keith Konkol, director of Infectious Diseases at Mercy Hospital.

The waiting room at Mercy Hospital's Urgent Care Center was not overflowing Friday evening. In fact, it was empty, WISC-TV reported.

Health officials said they feel the initial panic over the swine flu might have passed.

"A couple of days ago, after the first case was reported in Wisconsin, we did see that significantly," said Konkol.

However, with a case being deemed probable in Rock County, hospitals and public health officials are working together to monitor the situation and educate residents.

"Seven days past their last contact with the infectious individual. That's when we know from the data -- that's when we think that their chance of developing those symptoms is past," said Rock County Public Health Nursing Director Janet Zoellner.

Officials said isolation is critical to keeping the virus from spreading, explaining that the chance of catching the virus if exposed is between 25 and 30 percent.

"Let (health workers) know right away so that we can get a mask on them, get them into isolation appropriately and keep them out of the rest of the population, or keep them out of the waiting room, so they're not spreading the disease to other people," said Konkol.

Officials said the Rock County man suspected of having the virus did isolate himself, and they hope that will lower the chance of swine flu spreading in the community.

"This individual, when he became symptomatic, did isolate himself at home, and this is behavior that we are hoping for and we're extremely happy that this individual has taken," Cain said.

Rock County officials said the man's symptoms have been mild and they've asked anyone in contact with the man to isolate themselves as well for at least seven days.

Officials said no school children are involved so schools will not be affected in Rock County.

Health officials said they have plans in place for exactly this situation.

Having prepared for SARS and Avian Flu scares in the past few years, they said they're confident they're ready.

Officials also said there could be good news in treating the swine flu. Konkol said that while the common flu resisted antiviral medications this past winter, there appears to be no resistance from the swine flu.

Rock County health officials aren't saying where in the county the probable case emerged, but they're urging residents to take caution and frequently wash hands with soap and water to avoid spreading the virus.

Dane County Officials Monitor Possible Cases

In Dane County, there are still no probable or confirmed cases of the swine flu on Friday. But local health leaders said it's very likely that they'll soon see a case, and they're doing all they can to make sure the public is prepared and alert.

"At some point, I'm pretty sure we're going to see cases here," said Dr. Thomas Schlenker, director of Public Health Madison & Dane County.

Schlenker said Dane County has referred 34 suspected cases so far to the State Hygiene Lab. Of those, 21 were negative and 13 are still pending results.

The Madison Metropolitan School District said it is also following the situation closely.

"We are working with our staff to monitor attendance -- both students and our staff," said Freddie Adelson, health services coordinator for the school district.

The district said it's doing all it can to keep parents in the loop. Administrators sent a letter home with students Friday -- updating parents on the latest information and what the protocol is, if schools need to close.

"We take our direction from the local health department officials, and if they direct us to close a school, we will do that," Adelson said. "That would happen if there was a confirmed case in a student or staff person in the school."

In the meantime, Public Health Madison & Dane County is working to keep up with cases and the numerous phone calls from the concerned public. In response to the increased call volume, the city-county public health department added four additional full-time nurses to it's staff on Friday.

There are now six nurses taking calls during city hours and answering any questions Dane County residents might have, WISC-TV reported.

"We want people to be prepared, but we don't want them to be overly concerned, because so far this looks like a flu virus that is probably no worse than what we see every winter," Schlenker said.

Milwaukee County Reports 27 Probable Swine Flu Cases

Milwaukee County authorities on Friday reported 27 probable cases of swine flu, which would represent a fourfold increase over the number of probable cases the state has verified for the county.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Friday afternoon most if not all of the new cases were in children, and most were considered probable based on testing at a local hospital, not at a state laboratory.

He said the city has temporarily closed several local schools and there's always a possibility the entire Milwaukee School District could be closed if enough new cases are reported over the weekend.

The Milwaukee Health Department said Saturday it has canceled recreational activities offered through the public schools this weekend because of concerns about swine flu.

Saturday and Sunday activities offered by the Milwaukee Public Schools Recreation Division have been canceled, including classes, swimming and adult and youth sports leagues and activities.

The health department said interscholastic sporting events will be held, except for those involving teams from 12 closed schools.

Those schools are: Forest Home Avenue School, Lincoln Avenue School, Kosciuszko Montessori School, ALAS High School, Wedgewood Park International School, Milwaukee Learning Laboratory Institute, Honey Creek Continuous Progress Charter School, Allen-Field School, Riverside University High School, Clement Avenue School, Mitchell School and Rogers Street Academy.

Health Officials Outline Symptoms

Health officials said the symptoms of swine flu include fever, headache, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, body aches and/or tiredness and, in some cases, nausea and diarrhea.

Symptoms can take two to seven days to develop, meaning that people can pass on swine flu before knowing they're sick. Officials said there are medications available to treat those with swine flu that will help reduce length and severity of illness.

Officials said if people got a flu vaccination this winter, it likely will not have much effect protecting against swine flu.

The CDC is urging people to take precautions to protect themselves from the swine flu. Health experts are recommending covering one's nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, washing hands often with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and staying home if and limiting contact with others if sick.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.

For More Info:

To learn more about swine flu, visit http://pandemic.wisconsin.gov
CDC's Web site.