CHARLESTON (AP) — From coal mines to classrooms, West Virginians are bracing for swine flu to spread as pockets of cases were reported Tuesday in several border counties.

Cabell, Jackson, Mercer, Monongalia and Wood counties experienced spikes in the number of cases, said West Virginia Bureau for Public Health spokeswoman Marsha Dadisman.

Schools were among the hardest hit.

West Virginia University in Morgantown has seen 460 cases of flulike symptoms, school spokesman John Bolt said.

Cabell County Schools spokesman Jedd Flowers said about 40 percent of students at Cabell Midland High School were absent Tuesday, three days after a freshmen died.

“We’re taking all the precautions that we can,” Flowers said.

In Mercer County, health officials are investigating 213 cases of flulike symptoms, including some in area schools.

In Wood County schools, absenteeism is up slightly after several students were diagnosed with H1N1 and Type A influenza, said Teresa Bayer, health services coordinator for the school system. School officials plan to offer vaccines to elementary students during parent-teacher conferences on Oct. 26 and have hired extra custodians to clean common areas during the day.

In Jackson County, more than half the county’s 63 confirmed cases involve Ripley High School, where Superintendent Blaine Hess said about a fifth of the school’s 1,005 students were absent Monday.

“It’s definitely a bump in the road whenever you have that percentage of the student population absent,” said Melanie Purkey, executive director of the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools. But schools are being encouraged to stay open as long as they have the staff and students to operate safely.

Three people have died in West Virginia of H1N1. Besides the student at Cabell Midland, a 51-year-old Kanawha County man died Sept. 3 and a 37-year-old person died last week, both at Huntington hospitals.

Dr. Cathy Slemp, the state health officer, estimated that several thousand West Virginians are likely infected with swine flu, but stressed that most will recover. She said 36,000 people die nationwide each year from the seasonal flu, suggesting a fatality rate of 200 or so for the Mountain State.

West Virginia University Hospitals in Morgantown, which treats not only the campus and local communities but patients from across the state, has had 49 confirmed cases of H1N1 since June 15. However, spokeswoman Amy Johns said the actual number of cases is likely much higher because only five samples a week are now sent to state health officials for confirmation, and earlier samples were not sent.

“There’s an assumption that if a person has the flu, it’s H1N1,” she said.

Symptoms for both viruses are similar, including a temperature of 100 degrees or more, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, fatigue, and vomiting and diarrhea in some cases.

Two of the Morgantown hospital’s 49 confirmed cases — one adult and one child — resulted in hospitalization, but Johns said both were later discharged. The 49 cases also may include students, who primarily use the WVU Student Health Service but may have come to the emergency room on their own.

WVU Hospitals has been doing seasonal flu vaccinations and has offered free shots to every university employee and student.

West Virginia’s first batch of swine flu vaccine is expected to arrive this week, but the first 10,000 doses will go to hospitals and health care workers to ensure continued treatment for people who fall sick with the H1N1 virus this fall.

Slemp said she expects more vaccine to arrive later this month or early November, and enough for anyone who wants one by January.

Johns said WVU Hospitals has posted signs throughout its facilities to warn people of swine flu symptoms and how to prevent illness. Hand sanitizer dispensers are widely available, and masks are given to people if they are coughing and sneezing when they come in.

Those tips and precautions are among a collection of resources the Mine Safety & Health Administration has posted on its Web site to help educate miners, supervisors and operators on how to prevent the spread of infection.

State health officials reached out to more than 107,000 employers across the state within the past year, urging them to prepare for possible outbreaks. The state has also issued public service announcements and the like.

Slemp, who is scheduled to update cabinet secretaries and agency directors Wednesday on the state’s flu efforts, recommends private and public employers seek guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web page.

“They too, just like every other employer, have a responsibility to address this issue,” Slemp said of public agency workplaces.

Health experts expect the flu will spread across the state within the next two to three weeks as neighboring states are already reporting widespread outbreaks.

“It’s following the pattern,” Purkey said. “It is spreading. It’s going to come in waves, in and out of communities throughout the flu season.”

As it does, she said, “our response may change over time.”