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Volume 17, Number 9?September 2011
Letter
Respiratory Illness in Households of School-Dismissed Students during Influenza Pandemic, 2009
Nicole J. Cohen, Comments to Author David B. Callahan, Vanessa Gonzalez, Victor Balaban, Rose T. Wang, Paran Pordell, Ricardo Beato, Otilio Oyervides, Wan-Ting Huang, and Mehran S. Massoudi
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Suggested citation for this article
To the Editor: In response to the emergence of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus (1), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued interim guidance for preventing spread of the pandemic virus in schools. Initial guidance recommended that dismissal of students be considered for schools with confirmed cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection. The guidance was subsequently revised to recommend monitoring for respiratory illness and exclusion of ill students until they were noninfectious, rather than dismissal.
In Chicago, Illinois, USA, the first cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection were identified on April 28, 2009, of which 1 occurred in an elementary school student (2). In accordance with CDC guidance at the time, the school (school A) was closed for 1 week, April 29?May 5, 2009. CDC and the Chicago Department of Public Health investigated respiratory illnesses among students and their households during the period surrounding the school closure.
A telephone survey of students' households was conducted during May 15?20, 2009 (3). One adult member of each household was asked whether any household members had been "sick with cold or flu symptoms or fever" since April 12. Age, date of illness onset, and symptoms and signs (fever, cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea or nasal congestion [runny or stuffy nose]) were recorded. Acute respiratory illness was defined as >1 symptom or sign from the list provided. Influenza-like illness was defined as fever plus cough or sore throat. Reports were excluded if onset date was before April 12 or unknown. Descriptive analysis was performed, and household attack rates were calculated. Dates of onset were used to evaluate timing of illness in relation to school closure and possible transmission within households. The investigation was approved as nonresearch by CDC.
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Letter
Respiratory Illness in Households of School-Dismissed Students during Influenza Pandemic, 2009
Nicole J. Cohen, Comments to Author David B. Callahan, Vanessa Gonzalez, Victor Balaban, Rose T. Wang, Paran Pordell, Ricardo Beato, Otilio Oyervides, Wan-Ting Huang, and Mehran S. Massoudi
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Suggested citation for this article
To the Editor: In response to the emergence of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus (1), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued interim guidance for preventing spread of the pandemic virus in schools. Initial guidance recommended that dismissal of students be considered for schools with confirmed cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection. The guidance was subsequently revised to recommend monitoring for respiratory illness and exclusion of ill students until they were noninfectious, rather than dismissal.
In Chicago, Illinois, USA, the first cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection were identified on April 28, 2009, of which 1 occurred in an elementary school student (2). In accordance with CDC guidance at the time, the school (school A) was closed for 1 week, April 29?May 5, 2009. CDC and the Chicago Department of Public Health investigated respiratory illnesses among students and their households during the period surrounding the school closure.
A telephone survey of students' households was conducted during May 15?20, 2009 (3). One adult member of each household was asked whether any household members had been "sick with cold or flu symptoms or fever" since April 12. Age, date of illness onset, and symptoms and signs (fever, cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea or nasal congestion [runny or stuffy nose]) were recorded. Acute respiratory illness was defined as >1 symptom or sign from the list provided. Influenza-like illness was defined as fever plus cough or sore throat. Reports were excluded if onset date was before April 12 or unknown. Descriptive analysis was performed, and household attack rates were calculated. Dates of onset were used to evaluate timing of illness in relation to school closure and possible transmission within households. The investigation was approved as nonresearch by CDC.
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