Two high schools in Rome were ordered closed for seven days by Health Junior Minister Ferruccio Fazio on Friday after it was confirmed that four students had the new H1N1 flu.
The students from the Convito Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II and the Dante Alighieri schools were part of a group of 400 students who returned from a field trip to New York on May 19.
With the four Roman students, Italy has now confirmed 14 cases of the new flu, also known as Influenza A or Swine Flu.
A total of 333 cases of the new flu have been diagnosed in New York with 227 in New York City and another 106 in surrounding counties.
There has also been one fatality.
The school closings in the Italian capital were the first since health officials adopted precautionary measures following the outbreak of the flu in Mexico this spring.
The 400 Italian high school students, Fazio told the press, ''were part of a group of 10,000 students visiting New York. We are currently contacting the 400 to see if they need to be tested''.
The 10,000 international students were visiting New York as part of a United Nations project.
Fortunately, the junior minister observed, ''this new flu is not very virulent. Nevertheless, it is best to take all precautions and carry out the established prevention measures to control any possible epidemic''.
Should any other students from other schools come down with the flu, these schools will also be temporarily closed down for a week, Fazio said.
According to epidemiologist Gianni Rezza of Italy's Higher Health Institute (ISS), ''keeping the virus from spreading is the first step which must be taken to avoid an outbreak of flu''.
''Except for one case of flu spreading from one family member to another, the cases of flu in Italy have so far all been 'imported' and this is why it is important to isolate anyone with flu,'' Rezza added.
''At present we are in a phase in which the flu is not spreading in the country and temporarily shutting down schools is an effective way to keep it from doing so,'' the ISS expert said.
School officials at Convitto Nazionale said there was no reason for alarm among students who did not go on the field trip because those who did go ''never set foot in the school after their return''.
''Except for all the media attention, the students have nothing to worry about,'' the school added.
The Convitto Nazionale, which has dormitory facilities for students from outside Rome, has over 1,000 students who study there from elementary through high school.
Dante Aligheri high school opened as usual on Friday because the order to shut down was not received.
The latest report from the World Health Organization said that there are now 11,168 confirmed cases of the new flu in 42 countries and that the death toll had risen to 86.
All the fatalities have been in North and Central America with 75 in Mexico, nine in the United States and one each in Canada and Costa Rica.
The US has the highest number of confirmed cases, 5,769, followed by Mexico with 3,892 and Japan with 294.
In Europe there are 113 cases in Spain, 112 in Britain, 16 in France and 14 in Germany.
