Swine Flu South Carolina

A private school in Newberry, South Carolina, canceled classes Monday for fear of Swine Flu.

Some students at the school, which is about 40 miles northwest of Columbia, returned from a trip to Mexico with flu-like symptoms.

School officials say they're not too concerned about swine flu, and believe a student who was sick before boarding the plane infected other students.

State Epidemiologist, Dr. Jerry Gibson, M.D., says the swine flu virus is unusual because it usually doesn't affect humans.

He says, "What's happened is probably in some human who was exposed to a pig virus, the two viruses, the human and the pig in them, recombined into this brand new virus."

So far the Swine Flu has killed more than 100 people in Mexico, where more than 1,600 cases have been reported.

40 cases have been confirmed in the U.S.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control says the U.S. is not recommending people across the country put on masks to protect themselves in the workplace, like many are doing in Mexico.

He says for now, people need to focus things like regular hand washing.

There are *no* confirmed cases of swine flu in South Carolina.