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Flu starts hitting Valley schools
No confirmation yet of H1N1 strain, but school cleaning staff scour rooms to be safe
By Christiana Wiens, Comox Valley EchoSeptember 29, 2009
The Comox Valley School District got a dry run on its H1N1 plans this past week after a six-year-old boy from Royston Elementary School was hospitalized at St. Joseph's General Hospital with influenza A.
His symptoms have improved and he has since been discharged from the hospital. He was tested for H1N1 but those results haven't come back yet.
On Thursday, the school had a 15 per cent absentee rate, meaning between there were between 20 and 28 students away from class.
Friday was a professional development day, a regular day off for the school. Only one teacher reported symptoms.
Over the weekend a team of school district maintenance staff scoured the school to prevent spread of the virus to the school population while parents were informed via an email and telephone call-out system to take extra precautions and keep students home on Monday if they were ill.
As of Monday - roughly 10 per cent of the school's 209 students were off school with flu-like symptoms. The remaining five per cent of absenteeism are students who either can't be contacted or whose parents kept them home for fear they'd get sick.
Since then the district and Vancouver Island Medical health officials have been working hard to normalize H1N1 in schools.
"H1N1 appears to have replaced the seasonal flu," said school superintendent Jordan Tinney Monday afternoon.
As students get sick the district will assume they have the swine flu and record absenteeism, taking action when the level top 10 per cent above the baseline.
"As we have increased absenteeism at the school level we will assume it's more than likely H1N1," he said.
At one point during the day he did expect the virus to affect more schools but, as of Monday, no other buildings had absentee levels above 10 per cent.
"A child had the flu went to the doctor and was told it's more than likely H1N1," Tinney said. "No swabbing was done."
Even if people are tested for the flu, as is done in only the most serious cases, lab tests can take days to come back. If a child recovers quickly they can be back home riding their bike before they are ever diagnosed.
Dr. Charmaine Enns said the district should respond effectively.
"We should expect it and know how to deal with it," she said.
Enns would not say if there were other students hospitalized with the flu, saying there are no known lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 in the Valley.
Meanwhile, the school district is preparing its health and safety budget for a blizzard of influenza cases this fall that will see teams of cleaners sanitize schools during an outbreak.
To date, the budget includes hand sanitizer stations, cleaners but not substitute teachers or sick pay.
The district is asking parents to visit its website at www.sd71.bc.ca for individual school updates.
http://www.canada.com/starts+hitting+Valley+schools/2047895/story.html
No confirmation yet of H1N1 strain, but school cleaning staff scour rooms to be safe
By Christiana Wiens, Comox Valley EchoSeptember 29, 2009
The Comox Valley School District got a dry run on its H1N1 plans this past week after a six-year-old boy from Royston Elementary School was hospitalized at St. Joseph's General Hospital with influenza A.
His symptoms have improved and he has since been discharged from the hospital. He was tested for H1N1 but those results haven't come back yet.
On Thursday, the school had a 15 per cent absentee rate, meaning between there were between 20 and 28 students away from class.
Friday was a professional development day, a regular day off for the school. Only one teacher reported symptoms.
Over the weekend a team of school district maintenance staff scoured the school to prevent spread of the virus to the school population while parents were informed via an email and telephone call-out system to take extra precautions and keep students home on Monday if they were ill.
As of Monday - roughly 10 per cent of the school's 209 students were off school with flu-like symptoms. The remaining five per cent of absenteeism are students who either can't be contacted or whose parents kept them home for fear they'd get sick.
Since then the district and Vancouver Island Medical health officials have been working hard to normalize H1N1 in schools.
"H1N1 appears to have replaced the seasonal flu," said school superintendent Jordan Tinney Monday afternoon.
As students get sick the district will assume they have the swine flu and record absenteeism, taking action when the level top 10 per cent above the baseline.
"As we have increased absenteeism at the school level we will assume it's more than likely H1N1," he said.
At one point during the day he did expect the virus to affect more schools but, as of Monday, no other buildings had absentee levels above 10 per cent.
"A child had the flu went to the doctor and was told it's more than likely H1N1," Tinney said. "No swabbing was done."
Even if people are tested for the flu, as is done in only the most serious cases, lab tests can take days to come back. If a child recovers quickly they can be back home riding their bike before they are ever diagnosed.
Dr. Charmaine Enns said the district should respond effectively.
"We should expect it and know how to deal with it," she said.
Enns would not say if there were other students hospitalized with the flu, saying there are no known lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 in the Valley.
Meanwhile, the school district is preparing its health and safety budget for a blizzard of influenza cases this fall that will see teams of cleaners sanitize schools during an outbreak.
To date, the budget includes hand sanitizer stations, cleaners but not substitute teachers or sick pay.
The district is asking parents to visit its website at www.sd71.bc.ca for individual school updates.
http://www.canada.com/starts+hitting+Valley+schools/2047895/story.html