Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Steve Peoples doesn't have swine flu. That's good news not just for him, but for the entire state of Rhode Island, which is on high alert for any cases of the illness.

Peoples, a Providence Journal political reporter, felt ill after a trip to Mexico -- and became the first person tested under the R.I. Health Department's stepped-up surveillance of flu-like illnesses.

Hundreds of people in Mexico have been sickened by swine flu, a worrisome bug because it is new to the human immune system and could lead to widespread illness.

Peoples started feeling feverish and achy last week, a few days after returning from a vacation in Mexico. As he got worse, his mother urged him to get checked and his doctor agreed that it was worth a trip to the emergency room. He went to Miriam Hospital in Providence Saturday afternoon and waited two hours in the waiting room. A rapid-response swab found that he didn't have the flu.

Meanwhile, throughout the day on Saturday, health officials were faxing and e-mailing every physician, hospital and emergency room, asking them to be on the look-out for flu-like illnesses, especially among people who had traveled to Mexico.

On Sunday morning, Peoples got a phone call from Dr. Utpala Bandy of the Rhode Island Health Department, instructing him to return to the emergency room for additional testing. She also told him to go home immediately afterward and stay there till the results were in.

On his second visit, Peoples said, he was whisked into a separate room and the people who took a swab from his nose were all wearing masks.

Peoples dutifully went home and took the day off from work. On Monday, Bandy called his cell phone again to tell him he does not have swine flu.

 Tags  swine flu

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