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GREENSBORO — Local health officials met twice this week about preparing for the swine flu, although no cases have been reported in Guilford County.

The state also is ramping up preparations. As of Tuesday afternoon, lab tests showed the first 15 suspected cases were not swine flu, said Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the state health director. The state has additional cases to test, more than 10 but fewer than 50, he said.

Nationally, the CDC said Wednesday the swine flu has killed a 23-month-old child in Texas. It's the first U.S. death in the current outbreak.

In Mexico, the source of the outbreak, some estimates put the number of sick at nearly 2,500 with about 150 dead.

Confirmed cases are much lower, with the World Health Organization reporting 26 lab-confirmed cases, including seven deaths through Monday, the latest data available. The Associated Press reported 26 deaths as of Tuesday.

Morehead Memorial Hospital officials in Rockingham County met Monday to go over their plans.

Guilford officials met by conference call Sunday and gathered again Monday.

“We’re trying to think ahead,” said Steve Ramsey, preparedness manager for the Guilford County Department of Public Health. “We’re going to ... organize our response to this so that we can try to make the most efficient use of our resources and do what we need to do as events unfold.”

Meanwhile, 13 UNCG students studying abroad in Mexico have found their classes canceled through May 5 as the country tries to stop the spread of the disease.

“All say they’re safe and well,” said Penelope Pynes, acting associate provost for international programs. “Only one is really considering coming home at this point. They’re not scared or worried so much.”

They’re expected to take their exams when classes resume, she said.

The students are in Mexico on either yearlong or semester study-abroad programs. They’re in Cuernavaca, Querétaro and Monterrey, all campuses of the Tecnológico de Monterrey, a private university. One student is studying in Guanajuato.

Pynes contacted students and parents over the weekend after hearing about the swine flu outbreak. She said UNCG created a pandemic plan years ago in response to outbreaks of the avian flu and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The university typically has several hundred students studying in 45 countries each academic year, from one-week stints to full-year programs.

There had always been plans in place to handle such incidents as protests and political situations, but not pandemics, Pynes said.

“With the SARS, that was sort of a wake up call,” Pynes said.

Those outbreaks also led to pandemic plans at the state and local levels in the United States.

A big part of those plans is communication and coordination.

Tracking data also is important to see whether cases are cropping up. Guilford officials will be able to look at frequently updated information from local hospitals to track any trends, Ramsey said.

“We’re monitoring the situation very closely,” he said.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com