Special Need Student 9th Suspected H1N1 Case

A special needs students at a Montgomery County high school is the ninth suspected H1N1 flu case in the state.

The recent case has prompted officials to close Rockville High School making the Montgomery County school the first in the state to be closed because of the virus.

A state health official tells ABC 2 News the student has a difficult time communicating so it is unclear at this time how long he has been sick.

The student and his family have no recent travel history which means there is a higher chance the student contracted the virus at school. Health officials say they closed the school, as opposed to other Maryland schools with students suspected to have the virus, because it is unknown how the student got the virus and if it was already spread to others.

The Montgomery Health Department is holding a press conference at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the case and the decision to close the school.

For continued coverage of the H1N1 outbreak stay with ABC 2 News and abc2news.com.