The swine flu is spreading across the across the North Texas region and several schools and school districts in the communities surrounding SMU have closed their doors to stop the virus’ spread. SMU said in an e-mail if a case is detected it is “prepared to implement preparedness plans.”

Elementary schools in Dallas, Richardson, and a middle school in Plano have closed down because of confirmed swine flu cases. A confirmed case in Fort Worth and 10 suspected cases have caused the entire district to close their doors until May 8.

According to the Center for Disease Control, confirmed cases of the swine flu in Texas are up to 26, this is up from the 4 The Daily Campus reported on Tuesday. The only death from the swine flu has occurred in Texas, a 26-month-old infant.

On April 29, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5, a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent.”

Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth has also shut down due to its proximity to the confirmed cases of Fort Worth ISD. Texas Wesleyan is the first university closure in the state of Texas.

SMU was not prepared to comment on the idea of closing its doors but Kent Best, spokesman for SMU, said because of dramatic changes witnessed in the last week it is causing the university to re-evaluate its plans. He also added the situation is ever changing so the university wants “to have everything in place that [it] needs to have in place to deal with the situation.”

The university is advising all individuals that have traveled to an area within the United States or internationally where one or more cases have been confirmed to call the SMU-info line for more information at 214-768-4636.

The university has set up a web site to keep students updated on the swine flu status on campus at smu.edu/flu.