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School with swine flu case won't be named
Arlington, Caldwell cite privacy issues, though move upsets some
BY JOHN DAVIS • POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL • MAY 31, 2009
To protect the identity of an Arlington student who just recovered from a mild case of swine flu, the district is not identifying the name of the student or the student's school - despite protests from some parents in the district.
"That's something that's really got to be kept close to the vest," Arlington school board President Steven Rossi said.
The first two confirmed cases of swine flu, or H1N1 influenza virus, infection in Dutchess County were announced Tuesday, and three more Friday, by county Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Caldwell. All five patients have recovered. To protect the patients' identity, Caldwell would not release their names and he recommended the Arlington superintendent not specify which school the student who had swine flu attends.
"Their very clear guideline was not to release the name of the school to protect the identity of the student," Arlington Superintendent Frank Pepe said.
Some Arlington parents, concerned about the health and safety of their children, are irate the school district is not announcing the name of the school.
William Smith of LaGrange said his daughter at Titusville Intermediate School and his son at Arlington High School have asthma. He said as a parent and taxpayer, he is outraged the district is not releasing the name of the school the student who had swine flu attends.
"I went over and took my daughter literally out of school," Smith said Wednesday. "I should know if there's a sickness in that school."
But he sent them back to school on Thursday because he didn't want them to fall behind.
"It's a very tough decision what you're going to do," Smith said. "I sent them back to school because they need an education."
Caldwell said because of the mild strain of the swine flu and the likelihood there are many more cases through-out the county, it would not be fair to single out one school. Doing so, he said, would likely trigger requests by parents to have their children tested, even though their health is not in danger.
"The most important message is there are more than likely cases of this illness in every school in the county," Caldwell said. "If you mention the name of the school you are not going to be able to test everyone."
The district has a total of about 10,400 students attending 13 schools.
Protocols Issued
Only last week, the New York Health Department issued protocols to county health commissioners restricting testing for swine flu to only those who are severely ill and exhibit influenza-like symptoms.
"Those two cases we have would not even be tested," Caldwell said Tuesday after the first cases were announced.
Swine flu is a respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses that regularly cause outbreaks in pigs. There have been reports of serious illness and deaths because of swine flu in Mexico, but the recently confirmed cases in the United States have mostly been mild, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Friday New York City had 415 confirmed cases of swine flu, bringing the total confirmed cases to 619 across the state. Nationwide, officials have reported more than 8,975 swine flu cases and 15 deaths.
The World Health Organization said at least 53 countries have confirmed more than 15,510 swine flu cases. Mexico has 4,910 cases and the death toll is 85.
The New York City Health Department has been recommending the closing and reopening of schools based on the outbreak of influenza-like symptoms among students - not on confirmed cases of swine flu. As in Dutchess County, the department has not released a list of schools where the illness has been confirmed.
A dozen schools of the city school system's 1,499 were closed Friday.
A spokeswoman for the New York City Health Department said the 415 confirmed cases represent only a fraction of those who have contracted the virus. They don't know for sure how many because the department is limiting testing only to those students who are severely ill, or to schools where there are outbreaks of influenza-like symptoms.
"The dominant flu strain now is H1N1," spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said.
The decision to close New York City schools for a few days at a time, based on outbreaks of the flu symptoms, is done, Scaperotti said, "to protect the vulnerable populations and slow the transmission of the virus in the school community."
[There's more on pages 3 and 4 of the article...]
Arlington, Caldwell cite privacy issues, though move upsets some
BY JOHN DAVIS • POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL • MAY 31, 2009
To protect the identity of an Arlington student who just recovered from a mild case of swine flu, the district is not identifying the name of the student or the student's school - despite protests from some parents in the district.
"That's something that's really got to be kept close to the vest," Arlington school board President Steven Rossi said.
The first two confirmed cases of swine flu, or H1N1 influenza virus, infection in Dutchess County were announced Tuesday, and three more Friday, by county Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Caldwell. All five patients have recovered. To protect the patients' identity, Caldwell would not release their names and he recommended the Arlington superintendent not specify which school the student who had swine flu attends.
"Their very clear guideline was not to release the name of the school to protect the identity of the student," Arlington Superintendent Frank Pepe said.
Some Arlington parents, concerned about the health and safety of their children, are irate the school district is not announcing the name of the school.
William Smith of LaGrange said his daughter at Titusville Intermediate School and his son at Arlington High School have asthma. He said as a parent and taxpayer, he is outraged the district is not releasing the name of the school the student who had swine flu attends.
"I went over and took my daughter literally out of school," Smith said Wednesday. "I should know if there's a sickness in that school."
But he sent them back to school on Thursday because he didn't want them to fall behind.
"It's a very tough decision what you're going to do," Smith said. "I sent them back to school because they need an education."
Caldwell said because of the mild strain of the swine flu and the likelihood there are many more cases through-out the county, it would not be fair to single out one school. Doing so, he said, would likely trigger requests by parents to have their children tested, even though their health is not in danger.
"The most important message is there are more than likely cases of this illness in every school in the county," Caldwell said. "If you mention the name of the school you are not going to be able to test everyone."
The district has a total of about 10,400 students attending 13 schools.
Protocols Issued
Only last week, the New York Health Department issued protocols to county health commissioners restricting testing for swine flu to only those who are severely ill and exhibit influenza-like symptoms.
"Those two cases we have would not even be tested," Caldwell said Tuesday after the first cases were announced.
Swine flu is a respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses that regularly cause outbreaks in pigs. There have been reports of serious illness and deaths because of swine flu in Mexico, but the recently confirmed cases in the United States have mostly been mild, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Friday New York City had 415 confirmed cases of swine flu, bringing the total confirmed cases to 619 across the state. Nationwide, officials have reported more than 8,975 swine flu cases and 15 deaths.
The World Health Organization said at least 53 countries have confirmed more than 15,510 swine flu cases. Mexico has 4,910 cases and the death toll is 85.
The New York City Health Department has been recommending the closing and reopening of schools based on the outbreak of influenza-like symptoms among students - not on confirmed cases of swine flu. As in Dutchess County, the department has not released a list of schools where the illness has been confirmed.
A dozen schools of the city school system's 1,499 were closed Friday.
A spokeswoman for the New York City Health Department said the 415 confirmed cases represent only a fraction of those who have contracted the virus. They don't know for sure how many because the department is limiting testing only to those students who are severely ill, or to schools where there are outbreaks of influenza-like symptoms.
"The dominant flu strain now is H1N1," spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said.
The decision to close New York City schools for a few days at a time, based on outbreaks of the flu symptoms, is done, Scaperotti said, "to protect the vulnerable populations and slow the transmission of the virus in the school community."
[There's more on pages 3 and 4 of the article...]
