It’s getting closer. It’s not here yet, but it probably will be.

It’s swine flu. And you can’t pick up the newspaper or turn on the TV without being hit with the latest update.

There have been no cases yet reported in Delaware County. So far we’ve been lucky. My guess is that eventually will change.

In Philadelphia, officials there say a 2-year-old boy who has already recovered was likely the first case of swine flu in the region. He is not alone.

At the University of Delaware, 10 students are being treated for symptoms of what officials there believe will be confirmed as swine flu.
One of the students had traveled to Mexico. The school has canceled two public events, a concert and public talk, but classes are continuing.

At Slippery Rock University in western Pennsylvania, officials are closely monitoring 22 students who recently returned from Mexico. They weren’t spring breakers partying in Cancun. They were there for a five-week student-teacher experience. They’re now worried about how to handle the students’ participation in this weekend’s commencements.

Out at Penn State, the folks at Happy Valley are urging students, faculty and staff to delay travel to Mexico.

The only death so far reported in the U.S. was a child who died in Texas after arriving from Mexico. It’s believed about 150 have died as a result of swine flu in Mexico.

Doctors are telling us this is not a time for panic, but instead to be informed and stay calm.

It’s good advice. In the meantime, some simple personal hygiene practices can go a long way, just as we would during routine winter flu outbreaks.

What is sometimes forgotten is that our winter battles with flu routinely kill as many as 36,000 people each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Hopefully the toll from swine flu won’t come anywhere close to those levels.

For now, caution is the key word.