Two Oxnard boys, ages 9 and 13, have tested positive for swine flu, according to the Ventura County Public Health Department.
The cases are the first in Ventura County. They were confirmed Wednesday night.
The boys attend Haycox Elementary and Blackstock Junior High School. Both schools were closed Thursday. Officials said the schools might be closed for a week.
Although there are still no confirmed cases of swine flu in Los Angeles County, a Cal State Long Beach student who became sick over the weekend is regarded as a "probable" victim of the illness.
The Long Beach Health Department told school officials earlier this week that a student living in the school's Los Alamitos Residence Hall may have contracted the flu, although final test results likely won't be available until Friday, according to a statement on the university's website.
The student -- who first fell ill on Sunday and visited a doctor the next day -- was recuperating in isolation with apparently mild symptoms, school officials said.
Health officials in Orange County say they hope to learn by Friday whether the first two "probable" cases of swine flu are the county's first confirmed cases.
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The probable cases, who are not related, are an 18-year-old student at Irvine's University High School and a 26-year-old Irvine man. Both traveled separately to Mexico and neither was hospitalized. The student has recovered, while the 26-year-old man is recovering at home.
There are no plans to shut down University High School, health officials say.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the Los Angeles County Director of Public Health, has repeatedly said that the appearance of the disease in the county is inevitable, given its size and proximity to areas where the disease is known to be spreading.
In California, public health officials have confirmed 16 cases of swine flu and are investigating 41 others as "probable" cases, according to Dr. Gil Chavez, deputy director for the state Center for Infectious Diseases. Eight cases statewide have required hospitalization, he said.
Los Angeles County has one probable case, he said, without elaborating on whether he was referring to the CSULB student.
With local, state, federal and international agencies monitoring and reporting on the ongoing outbreak, statistics on flu cases often vary widely from agency to agency.
"We're doing our best to give you the most accurate and up-to-date information," state Public Health Director Dr. Mark Horton told reporters. "While these numbers are important, I think what we're looking at generally is
the trend that they are showing.
"We are struggling with ... what we report at a given point in time," Horton said, also defending public health officials today against criticism that they were making much ado about nothing.
"Because we're still so very early in the game, and because of the fact that this is a novel virus, the fact that we have a neighbor very close to us to the south that's having a different experience, we think that it's very appropriate to continue to aggressively monitor and take appropriate steps based on what we're learning," Horton said.
Still, with the parades and parties of May Day and Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, Fielding said he saw no reason to tell people to stay home.
"I don't see any reason not to -- based on what we know today -- not to go ahead and do the things you would normally do, including the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the marches, except I would strongly urge people who are sick ... not to come and participate," Fielding said.
State public health officials recommended that school officials consider closing their doors for at least seven days if a student is discovered to have the swine flu or is a " highly suspect case."
Classes were not canceled at CSULB, but the student's classmates and teachers were notified.
"It is also important to note that the student has not attended classes this week," according to the CSULB statement.
The university set up a hotline -- 562-985-1460 -- for students or parents looking for more information.
County health officials said earlier this week that they had been investigating possible flu clusters at schools in the Santa Clarita Valley and in San Pedro, but officials from the Castaic Union and Los Angeles Unified school districts now say there is no evidence of swine flu in either area.
