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Source: http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=33966
Swine flu cases confirmed at Kingman schools
James Chilton, Miner Staff Reporter
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Black Mountain hit the hardest, with more than a hundred out sick
KINGMAN - If it wasn't official before, it is now: Swine flu has hit Kingman's public schools.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed a handful of H1N1 flu cases at Kingman High School and Black Mountain Elementary in Golden Valley.
The Kingman Unified School District suspects another two cases at Kingman Middle School.
Absences were up throughout the district late last week, continuing into Monday and Tuesday as more students began exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Black Mountain may be the worst hit school so far, with roughly a sixth of its student body absent Monday morning, according to Assistant Principal Shawn McCormick.
"I think we had 110 kids out yesterday," McCormick said Tuesday morning, adding that Tuesday's count was roughly the same.
"We've had about three times our normal number of kids out."
On Monday, district Superintendent Roger Jacks sent a phone message to every parent in the district alerting them to the virus and advising them to seek medical attention for any child with a rising fever.
Jacks also urged parents of sick children to keep them at home until at least 24 hours after their fever recedes.
"Right now, we just don't know where it's going, but we do know that we can minimize the effects of this if we can get parents to keep sick children at home, especially if they're running a fever," Jacks said. "We've been told it's most contagious during the time that the child or staff member has the fever."
Jacks said the possibility of the flu forcing a school closure is unlikely, but he added that the district will follow the county Health Department's instructions, should such a need occur. As of Tuesday morning, district nurse Sharla Smith said only 10 H1N1 cases have actually been confirmed in the district.
But, she noted, none of the local medical facilities is equipped to test for the H1N1 strain, meaning each suspected sample must be sent to the state lab in Phoenix for testing, a process which can take several days to get a result. In the meantime, she said, it's likely that many more children have become ill with the flu and are simply staying at home.
"There's probably a lot of people that are sick that aren't being diagnosed," Smith said.
Since the regular seasonal flu has not yet hit, Smith said the district is treating every flu-like case as if it were H1N1, just to be safe. So far, symptoms have included the usual - sore throat, fever, runny or stuffy nose, coughing, body aches and fatigue - though there are several symptoms unique to this strain of flu, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Smith said most cases she's seen have been fairly mild, and students are usually out of school for three to five days. What's important, she said, is that parents are making sure their child's fever is completely gone before sending them back.
"We want to make sure parents aren't giving kids Tylenol, then sending the fevers to school," she said.
McCormick said parents appear to be taking the advice to heart and are cooperating with the district's recommendations. "The parents are being great," he said. "I think we only sent home 15 to 20 kids yesterday because most parents already kept them home."
The virus seems to have spared district faculty so far, with call-ins averaging about 30 per day district-wide. Jacks said the district typically averages between 25 and 35 call-ins per day due to regular illness and time off for professional development. "I get the absentee report every day and I look at where we are, and that's in the normal range for us," he said.
As H1N1 runs its course through the district, Smith said parents should stay vigilant, even if their child has already had the disease. After all, seasonal flu is just around the corner, and it's not likely to discriminate between someone who's had H1N1 and someone who hasn't.
"We're going to have two flus going on, and I don't really know when one's going to start and one's going to end," she said. "But no matter what flu it is, they need to keep kids at home until after 24 hours without fever and without using any fever reducers."
Swine flu cases confirmed at Kingman schools
James Chilton, Miner Staff Reporter
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Black Mountain hit the hardest, with more than a hundred out sick
KINGMAN - If it wasn't official before, it is now: Swine flu has hit Kingman's public schools.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed a handful of H1N1 flu cases at Kingman High School and Black Mountain Elementary in Golden Valley.
The Kingman Unified School District suspects another two cases at Kingman Middle School.
Absences were up throughout the district late last week, continuing into Monday and Tuesday as more students began exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Black Mountain may be the worst hit school so far, with roughly a sixth of its student body absent Monday morning, according to Assistant Principal Shawn McCormick.
"I think we had 110 kids out yesterday," McCormick said Tuesday morning, adding that Tuesday's count was roughly the same.
"We've had about three times our normal number of kids out."
On Monday, district Superintendent Roger Jacks sent a phone message to every parent in the district alerting them to the virus and advising them to seek medical attention for any child with a rising fever.
Jacks also urged parents of sick children to keep them at home until at least 24 hours after their fever recedes.
"Right now, we just don't know where it's going, but we do know that we can minimize the effects of this if we can get parents to keep sick children at home, especially if they're running a fever," Jacks said. "We've been told it's most contagious during the time that the child or staff member has the fever."
Jacks said the possibility of the flu forcing a school closure is unlikely, but he added that the district will follow the county Health Department's instructions, should such a need occur. As of Tuesday morning, district nurse Sharla Smith said only 10 H1N1 cases have actually been confirmed in the district.
But, she noted, none of the local medical facilities is equipped to test for the H1N1 strain, meaning each suspected sample must be sent to the state lab in Phoenix for testing, a process which can take several days to get a result. In the meantime, she said, it's likely that many more children have become ill with the flu and are simply staying at home.
"There's probably a lot of people that are sick that aren't being diagnosed," Smith said.
Since the regular seasonal flu has not yet hit, Smith said the district is treating every flu-like case as if it were H1N1, just to be safe. So far, symptoms have included the usual - sore throat, fever, runny or stuffy nose, coughing, body aches and fatigue - though there are several symptoms unique to this strain of flu, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Smith said most cases she's seen have been fairly mild, and students are usually out of school for three to five days. What's important, she said, is that parents are making sure their child's fever is completely gone before sending them back.
"We want to make sure parents aren't giving kids Tylenol, then sending the fevers to school," she said.
McCormick said parents appear to be taking the advice to heart and are cooperating with the district's recommendations. "The parents are being great," he said. "I think we only sent home 15 to 20 kids yesterday because most parents already kept them home."
The virus seems to have spared district faculty so far, with call-ins averaging about 30 per day district-wide. Jacks said the district typically averages between 25 and 35 call-ins per day due to regular illness and time off for professional development. "I get the absentee report every day and I look at where we are, and that's in the normal range for us," he said.
As H1N1 runs its course through the district, Smith said parents should stay vigilant, even if their child has already had the disease. After all, seasonal flu is just around the corner, and it's not likely to discriminate between someone who's had H1N1 and someone who hasn't.
"We're going to have two flus going on, and I don't really know when one's going to start and one's going to end," she said. "But no matter what flu it is, they need to keep kids at home until after 24 hours without fever and without using any fever reducers."