As swine flu cases multiply around the globe, the daily tally can seem a distant threat.

Not in Madison, a tiny working-class community in Yolo County.

When one neighbor is dead and another is hospitalized with swine flu – both otherwise young, healthy people – fear becomes palpable.

Questions arise: Is it OK to hug? Whose hand can I shake? Am I next?

"There's 300 people here," said Leo Refsland, manager of the local service district. "You start thinking about percentages."

A lack of information from public officials is making the situation even more confusing, Madison residents said Wednesday.

Last week, Stacey Speegle Hernandez, a 30-year-old mother of two, died at Woodland Memorial Hospital after contracting swine flu and then pneumonia. She was the first in Yolo County to die of the H1N1 virus. Statewide, 93 swine flu deaths have been recorded since the new virus emerged in a rural Mexican town last winter.

Another Madison resident, Roman Figueroa, 26, has been seriously ill at Sutter Davis Hospital for the past week. His 2-month-old daughter was briefly hospitalized with swine flu but is recovering at home.

Hernandez lived a few blocks from Figueroa in Madison.

Just down the street, Carla Phillips said her 4-year-old granddaughter came down with a fever Sunday. The family rushed her in the next morning to be tested for H1N1.

Initial results were negative, but that hasn't calmed Phillips. She said she's worried – for her family, for the town and for herself.

"I kissed my granddaughter, not thinking she might have the swine flu," she said.

Even so, she said she won't give into what she calls the paranoia of others.

Speegle Hernandez's death was devastating to her family, Phillips said. The single mother, whose husband died in 2002, had been fixing up a small home on Main Street that she recently purchased.

Longtime friends of Speegle Hernandez's family haven't gone to comfort her parents and grandparents because they're afraid to hug them, Phillips said.

She visited the family – even though others urged her not to. She said she's not about to abandon grieving friends – or her own family – if they're sick.

Instead, Phillips said, she's following prevention methods recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She keeps bottles of hand sanitizer all over her house and in her car. She washes her hands frequently and avoids touching her face.

"Isolating yourself isn't going to work," she said. "You just have to be careful."

Phillips, 48, is a vocal community advocate in Madison, an unincorporated hamlet that runs three blocks wide and four blocks long. The streets end at farm fields.

Yet some residents were unaware of three swine flu cases in their community.

"Our neighborhood should be taking precautions, but most people are just finding out about it," said Sherrie Barnett, a longtime Madison resident.

Yolo County officials haven't directly informed residents about the cases or advised them how to respond.

For now, they've reached out via the Internet and media.

Joseph Iser, public health officer, said the Yolo County officials plan to hold town hall meetings to address concerns.

He said health officials are working with community leaders; they hope to have the first meeting in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Madison residents said they're not sure what they should be doing to protect themselves, or others, from the virus.

"If my daughter starts coughing, I don't know if I should take her to a doctor or keep her home," Barnett said. "It really worries me."

Mothers said they are concerned about sending kids to school.

"I worry a lot, because I don't think this flu is really about age. It can happen to anyone," said Nancy Rosas, whose 6-year-old daughter is due to start school this month.

The H1N1 virus combines strains of swine, human and bird flu viruses and has become so widespread that the California Department of Public Health now assumes all new flu cases are swine flu.

"It is out there; it will continue to be out there," said Ralph Montaño, a spokesman for the department. "The H1N1 flu virus has circled the globe and every community in California, big or small."

In California, at least 892 people have been hospitalized and 93 have died from the new swine flu virus. There have been six deaths and 80 hospitalizations in the Sacramento region.

Most healthy people hit by swine flu have suffered no greater effects than from seasonal flu, but people with underlying health risks such as asthma or immune system deficiencies are at greater risk.

Health officials are advising people who exhibit flu-like symptoms to stay home, treat their symptoms and avoid contacting others.

In Madison, Roman Figueroa was hospitalized last week for what his girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, described as flu-like symptoms.

He's now in a negative-pressure room at Sutter Davis Hospital – standard procedure for containing airborne germs.

"It's scary," Lopez said. "No one wants to go see him because they're afraid they'll catch it. But he doesn't want to come home until he's better."

Figueroa, who had been on respirators and running a high fever for almost a week, didn't have any medical problems before, Lopez said.

The couple's 2-month-old daughter was hospitalized for the H1N1 virus Sunday but has since been released.

"She was running a 102 fever," Lopez said. "They were concerned because she's so little."

Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.