HONOLULU -- State health officials say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed three Hawaii patients did have the swine flu.

The CDC tested the samples of the patients.

Two of the cases are adults. One of them recently traveled to Texas. The other became ill after exposure to their spouse, health officials said. The third separate case is a school-aged child who traveled to California. The child did not attend school while ill, health officials said.

The patients have already recovered, officials said.

"With the confirmation of these three cases by CDC, Hawaii joins 38 or more states reporting confirmed H1N1 Influenza A or swine-origin flu activity," state Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a written statement. "Our department continues to aggressively monitor for and investigate flu cases as we move into the next phase of our identification and testing of illness in the state."

The CDC has confirmed 403 H1N1 cases so far.

"Our staff has been moving quickly and diligently to investigate suspected cases, determine any health risks, and provide precautionary measures to reduce and control any further spread of disease," state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said.

"The most important thing to do right now is to stay informed and to take common-sense steps to protect your health and the health of your family. The most effective ways to protect yourself and others from novel H1N1 and seasonal flu are by staying home if you’re sick, coughing or sneezing into your sleeve, inside of your upper arm or elbow, or a tissue, and washing your hands frequently with soap and water," Fukino said.

"I don't want to say the 'M' word, it's mild, because I'm worried, quite frankly that people will become complacent and say, 'Well, you know, I don't worry about seasonal flu anyways. It's not a big deal,'" Park said.

It is still a serious illness, in spite of the mild cases in the islands, she said.

"It's still being transmitted, obviously in communities on the mainland, and so, we're not quite out of the woods with this first wave. The question is will there be a second wave and we just want people to not let down their guard at this point," Park said.

The University of Hawaii Medical School on Tuesday sponsored a panel at Queen's Medical Center called "Swine Flu and You," with experts trying to put the outbreak in perspective for doctors and medical students.

"Five to 10, if not 20 percent of the population in the United States has influenza every year," Dr. Alan Tice said.

Since the virus is so new, the experts on the panel said more research must be done to discover why more people are dying in Mexico, and who is most vulnerable to the disease.