366 Students Out Sick After Swine Flu Scare

[Pathfinder]

Oct 7, 2009 1:14 pm US/Eastern

366 Students Out Sick After Swine Flu Scare

RADNOR (CBS 3)

A Delaware County high school announced they will be closed for the rest of the week after a student was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and 366 students were out sick.

Officials at Archbishop John Carroll High School canceled classes Wednesday after receiving confirmation a student has contracted swine flu. Two additional students are said to have unconfirmed cases of the contagious illness.

Archbishop John Carroll High School officials said they have had a 38 percent absentee rate on Wednesday due to students reporting cold and flu-like symptoms. Out 979 student, 366 did not come to school.

As a precaution, the school will be closed for the rest of the week while crews sanitize the building, officials stated in a letter sent home to parents. All sports practices and games have also been canceled.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, any student with flu-like symptoms should stay home until they are fever free for at least 24 hours without the uses of medications.

For more information on the flu, and how you can protect your family, please visit www.cbs3.com/flu


http://cbs3.com/local/swine.flu.school.2.1233252.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 366 Students Out Sick After Swine Flu Scare

Another high school dealing with H1N1

Published: Thursday, October 8, 2009

Another local high school has reported a student with the swine flu, or H1N1 virus.

Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown is telling parents that the student will remain home under medical care, and ?many? students have been sent home with flu-like symptoms.

The Chester County school remained open on Thursday.

On Wednesday, three students at Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor were diagnosed with swine flu.

That school is closed on Thursday and Friday as a "proactive" measure, officials said on Wednesday.

A letter from the school principal said the students will stay at home until a doctor gives them permission to return to the classroom.

"We have been advised that three of our students have been diagnosed with pandemic influenza A/H1N1 or swine flu. The students will remain home until the doctor has given permission to return to school," Principal David R. Dickens said in a statement.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/10/08/news/doc4ace251b24146179227119.txt

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: 366 Students Out Sick After Swine Flu Scare

........A Delaware County high school announced they will be closed for the rest of the week after a student was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and 366 students were out sick......

one student infected 366 students????

Might a portion of those 366 absent students have an "ache" which the family chose to interpret as possible H1N1 so they could keep their child home?

I'm not sure we can take school absentee numbers as H1N1 case numbers.

Some portion is bound to be "pro-active protection" absences.

.

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 366 Students Out Sick After Swine Flu Scare

Schools confirm swine flu cases

Published: Friday, October 9, 2009
By ANNE PICKERING, Staff Writer

DOWNINGTOWN ?

Two confirmed cases of the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, were reported at Bishop Shanahan High School, officials with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Thursday.

This is the second school in the area to report confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus among its students.

Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor had one confirmed case of the H1N1 virus and two probable cases. On Wednesday, 38 percent of its students were out sick with cold or flu-like symptoms and the school decided to close Thursday and Friday while it was being cleaned.

At Bishop Shanahan, maintenance and cleaning services cleaned the school from top to bottom Wednesday night and avoided closing.

On Thursday, 324 out of 1,260, or 25 percent, of Bishop Shanahan students were absent, but it's not known how many of the absences are related to swine flu or any other reason. There are no plans to close the school.

"All activities are ongoing and everything is back to normal as much as possible," said Kevin Mulligan, associate director of communications for the Archdiocese.

In a letter to parents from David Dickens, principal of Archbishop John Carroll High School, the school said it was closing temporarily "in an abundance of caution and in order to be proactive."

There are currently 83 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Chester County.

Becky Brain, Chester County communications coordinator, said the 83 cases were reported to the health department this summer. The majority of the affected individuals are within the categories that are considered most at risk for contracting the virus ? children six months to 24 years and those who have an underlying health condition.

Doctors and other health professionals do not have to report confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus to the Chester County Health Department. But if a school has a greater than average absentee rate, it needs to report that to the health department, Brain said.

The swine flu vaccine has begun arriving in Philadelphia, health officials reported Wednesday. Most of the first shipment is going to a few pediatric practices in Philadelphia. Children ages 5 to 9 will receive the vaccine first because they require two doses.

Downingtown Area School District is going to receive the vaccine by the end of the month and all 11,815 students in the district will be able to have the shots administered in their home school.

http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2009/10/09/news/srv0000006585798.txt