University of Hawai'i-Manoa officials said the school will operate as usual after it was confirmed that one student has swine flu and a second has shown symptoms of the virus.

The state Department of Health yesterday confirmed that an unnamed student who reported flu-like symptoms on Wednesday has the H1N1 influenza A virus. Virginia Hinshaw, UH-Manoa chancellor, said the student is recovering from "what appears to be a mild illness."

The Department of Health said another student with flu-like symptoms was given a nasal swab yesterday, although test results were not available.

In addition to those two students, one of two roommates of the infected student has complained of a sore throat, Hinshaw said. The three roommates, who live in the Hale Wainani dormitory complex, have been isolated in separate rooms as a precaution.

Hinshaw said none of the students had traveled out of state recently.

Other students and staff members who have been in close contact with the infected student are being notified and will be evaluated, said Janice Okubo, Department of Health spokeswoman. The affected areas of the residence hall were disinfected, although officials would not say which floor or even which of the Hale Wainani buildings was involved.

Students and faculty were notified that the virus had reached the campus yesterday afternoon via text messages and e-mails. School officials urged students who have flu-like symptoms to contact University Health Services and seek medical care.

NORMAL ACTIVITIES

Despite the presence of the virus on campus, Hinshaw said, school activities will not be curtailed. Classes ended on Wednesday, and final examinations began yesterday and will run through next week.

Hinshaw said commencement will be held as planned May 16.

"We're convinced that we're taking the right steps with the help of everybody," Hinshaw said. "We're going to handle our business as usual."

Hinshaw, a microbiologist who has worked on flu viruses, said the outbreak in Hawai'i appears to be mild so far, but health officials as well as the school are taking it seriously.

"This is not an uncommon problem," she said. "Once an influenza virus is in your community as a whole, you will see it in universities, as in other communities."

Students yesterday went about their day as usual, roaming from class to class, chatting outside buildings and returning to their dorms.

Taylor Wagner, a sophomore in travel industry management, lives in one of the Hale Wainani towers and said she isn't too concerned about the virus. She said she began to feel ill on Thursday, but hasn't had herself checked out.

"I got a little bit scared because I have flu symptoms right now, but the more I talked to people, and in the e-mail it said that the kid was already recovering, so I'm not really that worried about it," Wagner said.

She said if she continues to feel ill today, she will go to the health center for a checkup.

Wagner and another student, Amy Randel, yesterday welcomed high school friend Kelsey Glasser, who is visiting from New York. All three went to school in Portland, Ore., and had planned the get-together months ago.

Glasser, a student at New York University, said she received a text message from Wagner soon after landing in Hawai'i that the swine flu had hit the UH campus. Glasser said Wagner also informed her that she wasn't feeling well, but said that wasn't going to alter her plans.

"If I can't stay in this building, I was going to see if I could stay with (Randel). I wasn't about to go all the way home," Glasser said.

She added that she doesn't believe the outbreak is as serious as it is being portrayed in the media.

"I was in the bus on the way over here and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm in Hawai'i. No worries.' And then she texted me and said, 'There are news crews outside the building. It's the swine flu and I have it,' " Glasser laughed. "But I think people are overreacting," Glasser said.

'KIND OF WORRIED'

Ben Manzano, a sophomore engineering student, lives in the other Hale Wainani tower and said he's "kind of worried" about being exposed to the virus. He said he asked dorm officials which floor was infected, but wasn't given an answer.

"I'd like to know which area," he said. "If it was in this building and on my floor, I'd take a little bit more precaution."

The UH student is the sixth confirmed swine flu case in Hawai'i, and all have been on O'ahu. Okubo said residents should not be alarmed and should continue to practice good hygiene.

"The number of cases aren't important to us, but the importance is the severity of the illness and the recovery rate," Okubo said. "None of the cases have had to be hospitalized."

Health officials are making daily calls to the people affected by swine flu. The calls also serve as a reminder to the sick individuals to ensure that they stay confined, Okubo said.

For updated information, see http://manoa.hawaii.edu. And starting on Monday, the state Department of Health will post confirmed cases at www.hawaii.gov/health. Click on the H1N1 swine flu information link.