Sailors, Marines Quarantined for Swine Flu

Dozens of sailors and Marines who tested positive for swine flu were quarantined aboard four Navy ships at or near Pearl Harbor.
     
Health officials said at least 69 people were confirmed to have been infected with the virus.
     
An undetermined number of crew members with flulike symptoms have been quarantined on the ships that are part of the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, according to Navy officials. The ships arrived in Hawaii on Friday.
     
Thousands of other sailors and Marines from the ships are currently on leave in Hawaii. But Cmdr. Dora Lockwood said no one with flulike symptoms has been allowed to go on shore.
         
A spokeswoman for the state Health Department said it has been notified of the outbreak.

The ships involved are the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship; the USS Comstock, which is a landing ship; the cruiser USS Lake Champlain and the USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport dock ship, Lockwood told the Honolulu Advertiser.

The Marines on board the ships are members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is made up of about 2,200 Marines based at Camp Pendleton, the paper reported.