Oregon Public Broadcasting

The state health department, which had identified probable cases of swine flu in the state,  confirmed  Sunday for the first time that there are at least three cases of Swine Flu in Oregon. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

A woman and a teenage girl have the H1N1 virus in Multnomah County.  The teenager needed to go to an intensive care unit, but is now recuperating.

There is one other confirmed case in Polk County.

The state says there are 19 probable cases spread around Lane, Multnomah, Polk, Umatilla, Wallowa and Washington counties. About half of them are male and half female and they include seven children; four teenagers and 11 adults.

State Public Health director, Mel Kohn, says it's still not clear how virulent this strain of flu may be.

Mel Kohn: “The situation has been relatively mild. On the other hand, we still have not seen that many cases. The fact that we had a case here that was in the intensive care unit is of concern to me.”

The state now has test kits that can confirm Swine Flu. It has also received the anti-virus Tamiflu from the federal government, but hasn't used it at this point.