Maui Students Test Positive For H1N1

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The state Department of Health says students at a Maui school tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

Officials did not specify what school or how many students were affected, however they did say a number of the affected students were either not vaccinated or had not received the recommended two doses for children younger than 10 years old.

"Fortunately, this incident was short-lived and seems to have run its course," said Marc Nishimoto, public health emergency prepardness planner at the Maui District Health Office of the Hawaii State Department of Health. "It's a reminder to parents about the continued need to get their children vaccinated. And if a child is under 10, two doses of the H1N1 vaccine are needed."


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[tetano]

Re: Maui Students Test Positive For H1N1

WAILUKU - An outbreak of H1N1 in two classrooms at a Maui elementary school has prompted state health officials to remind residents of the continued need to be vaccinated against the virus.

Ranjani Rajan, the influenza surveillance coordinator for the state Department of Health, declined to disclose the name of the school, saying she did not want to scare others and to put the school in a negative light.

Of the students contacted so far and tested for the virus, five have been confirmed to have H1N1, said Rajan on Tuesday.

Only one of students exhibiting flulike symptoms in the outbreak at the school had been fully vaccinated against H1N1. The rest of the children had not been vaccinated or received only one dose of the vaccine. In children who are 10 years or younger, officials recommend two doses of the H1N1 vaccine.

The first report of suspected H1N1 was made March 29 when officials from the school reported that more than 20 percent of the students in one kindergarten class appeared to have flulike symptoms, said Rajan. The earliest onset of the flu from students in that class was reported March 25.

The second wave was reported April 12 in a 1st-grade classroom. School officials reported that a higher than normal number of students in the classroom also were missing school because of the flu. The first of those cases occurred March 31.

Since the second wave of cases was reported, Health Department officials have been receiving daily absentee records from the school, Rajan said.

Phone calls have then been made to families who report an absence because of flulike symptoms, but not all of them have been successfully contacted, she said.

Of those contacted, 11 students have been tested, and five have been confirmed to have H1N1 and two with seasonal flu. Rajan said four others had negative flu results but were being tested further for other respiratory viruses.

The name of the affected school was not disclosed by the Health Department with Rajan saying that releasing the school's name would create a "false sense of security" to those unaffected by the outbreak and could scare others unnecessarily. In addition, Rajan said the Health Department does not want to put the school in a negative light, and it should not be faulted for the lack of student vaccinations.

Health officials were continuing to monitor the school, Rajan said.

For information on getting the H1N1 vaccine, call 211 or contact a doctor. Information also is available online at flu.hawaii.gov (click on the map for a list of vaccination sites).

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