Health officials Monday added a student at historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C., to the list of those stricken with the rapidly spreading swine flu.

While experts warned Sunday that overreaction and panic to the new strain of the virus can be just as detrimental as the actual illness, the number of cases continued to rise. In the D.C. metro area – including the District and parts of Maryland and Virginia – there are 17 reported cases. Eleven of those are in Maryland, where school officials closed Rockville High School in Montgomery County, Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore County, Folger McKinsey Elementary School in Anne Arundel County and Montpelier Elementary School in Prince George's County. 

Each of the campuses has at least one student with a probable case of swine flu.

In Virginia, there are three confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, and in the District, there are three probable cases of the swine flu, according to health officials.  There have been no reports of death or hospitalizations in the D.C. area.

Nationally, the number of confirmed cases is up to 226 in 30 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Of those, 30 people have been hospitalized so far; there has been one death from the virus, a toddler in Texas, health officials say.