The week that began with hand-wringing about the threat posed by swine flu ended with less worry but more hand-washing.
There was good news, as federal health officials said the swine flu seemed no more of a threat than seasonal flu. But enough questions remained about the virus that people continued taking precautions.
Meanwhile, the week brought to metro Atlanta new victims, a local school closing and event closings. And the antiseptic smell of hand sanitizer still filled the air.
Sunday's early Cinco de Mayo celebrations were hampered when a major Hispanic event, a festival in DeKalb County that last year drew thousands, didn't go on because of concerns about swine flu.
By Monday, metro Atlanta had its first resident victim, a 14-year-old Henry County boy. His illness led to the closing of Eagle's Landing Christian Academy on Monday. School sports teams were told they couldn't compete until the place reopened, and the official federal recommendation was to shutter schools with a flu case for 14 days.
The school closing was worrisome enough that many Henry residents rushed in for testing, state officials said.
By Tuesday, more metro cases were emerging.
One Cherokee County family was hit particularly hard by the swine flu outbreak, apparently sending the entire household into bouts of fever, sneezing and body aches.
The family was earlier identified as a Cobb family, but officials said Friday that was incorrect. The family's 3-year-old boy was found to have the swine flu Tuesday, and his mother, father, 2-year-old sibling and a 2-month-old sibling also were showing symptoms.
As the week wore on, events around the world pointed to a waning of the danger. Mexican officials lowered their swine flu alert level in Mexico City, the capital, and said they would allow universities, cafes, museums and libraries to reopen this week.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, on a visit to Atlanta to tour the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said schools no longer needed to close if a single student comes down with the virus.
On Thursday, Eagle's Landing reopened, though some parents still kept their children at home.
It became increasingly clear that the number of cases tallied by the state did not capture the full presence of the illness in the state. State officials acknowledged that.
On Thursday, Georgia health officials announced that state labs were limiting testing to people hospitalized with symptoms of swine flu. Officials said they do not have the resources to test every suspected case in the state, and they need to focus on tracking more serious cases to help determine whether the virus, which has shown generally mild symptoms, becomes more virulent.
Susan Lance, senior director of the state Office of Protection and Safety, said people should just assume that the virus is widespread in the state and take precautions accordingly, including making sure to wash hands and to keep sick children home from school.
By Friday evening, Georgia had a total of five confirmed cases and eight probable cases. The relatively low Georgia numbers have created a backlash by some people against all the attention on swine flu by health officials and the media.
Even as the level of alarm has dropped, Georgia's first confirmed case, a 30-year-old Kentucky woman visiting for a wedding, continues to fight the virus.
Late this week, she was moved to Emory Medical Center in Atlanta, her condition complicated by a case of pneumonia. She was declared one of the sickest victims in the country, which only has 57 people hospitalized from swine flu. She is the only Georgia case who is hospitalized, state officials said.
Also Friday, officials noted that Henry County has six more probable cases awaiting final tests.
By the end of the week, federal health officials were focusing on the fall. Apparently, the flu virus spreads more easily in the cooler months, and they worry that after a summer lull, the virus could come back in a mutated and more dangerous form. They will be closely watching the virus during the upcoming winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Copyright 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution