Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Last Updated: 6:01 pm | Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Schools see more flu-related absences
By Peggy O'Farrell
October 13, 2009
As H1N1 flu and other bugs work their way through schools, Marilyn Crumpton has a reminder for parents: Keep the kids home if they're sick.
Crumpton, medical director of the Cincinnati Health Department's division of school and adolescent medicine, oversees health services for Cincinnati Public Schools.
"One of the issues we've had a little challenge with is a number of families, maybe they don't have thermometers or they're not thinking, is my child sick this morning, and they're sending them off to school," she said. "We've had a number of instances where kids have actually come to school pretty sick and the challenge is how to get a hold of the family and get the children home as soon as possible."
CPS and other districts in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are seeing higher-than-normal absenteeism as H1N1 flu and other seasonal viruses work their way through the schools.
On Oct. 5, 1,900 CPS students were out, out of a districtwide enrollment of more than 33,000 students.
A week later, 2,900 students were out.
Normally, the district's absentee rate averages 4 to 5 percent.
Now it's up to 8 percent some days, said Cynthia Eghbalnia, environmental health and safety services coordinator for CPS.
Schools around the region, most recently in Fairfield City Schools and the Northwestern School District, have reported cases of H1N1. Colerain High School last week reported seven students were infected with H1N1 flu.
Kenton County Schools, which has a districtwide enrollment of about 14,000 students, is seeing attendance rates "in the mid-80s" at some schools this week, said deputy superintendent Terry Cox-Cruey. Normally, they'd be at 90 percent or higher.
At Sycamore School District, the absentee rate varies by day and building, but Superintendent Adrienne James estimated the rate at 15 to 19 percent this week, which includes all absences for various reasons. That's higher than usual for this time of year, she said.
Elementary buildings have had a lower absentee rate than other buildings in the district, James said.
At CPS and other school districts, nurses are reminding students and teachers to practice good hygiene, including frequent handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes.
School and health department officials monitor daily attendance in CPS.
Nurses even visit individual classrooms if two or three students are out with flu-like symptoms to check students' temperatures twice a day, Crumpton said.
Students with flu-like symptoms are sent to special isolation areas where they can rest without infecting others, she said.
In other H1N1 news, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than half of the adults who've been hospitalized for H1N1 have had underlying health conditions.
The agency reviewed data on 1,500 adults and some 500 children and found that among adults, 26 percent hospitalized for H1N1 had asthma, 10 percent had diabetes, 8 percent had other chronic lung diseases, 7.6 percent were immune-compromised and 6.1 percent were pregnant.
Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's influenza division, pointed out though, that about 45 percent of people over 18 who were hospitalized for H1N1 were otherwise healthy. And, she added, the "vast majority" of hospitalizations for H1N1 were in younger people.
For children, the most common underlying health issue was sickle-cell anemia and other hemoglobin disorders, Schuchat said.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091013/NEWS0102/910140334/Schools+see+more+flu-related+absences
Schools see more flu-related absences
By Peggy O'Farrell
October 13, 2009
As H1N1 flu and other bugs work their way through schools, Marilyn Crumpton has a reminder for parents: Keep the kids home if they're sick.
Crumpton, medical director of the Cincinnati Health Department's division of school and adolescent medicine, oversees health services for Cincinnati Public Schools.
"One of the issues we've had a little challenge with is a number of families, maybe they don't have thermometers or they're not thinking, is my child sick this morning, and they're sending them off to school," she said. "We've had a number of instances where kids have actually come to school pretty sick and the challenge is how to get a hold of the family and get the children home as soon as possible."
CPS and other districts in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are seeing higher-than-normal absenteeism as H1N1 flu and other seasonal viruses work their way through the schools.
On Oct. 5, 1,900 CPS students were out, out of a districtwide enrollment of more than 33,000 students.
A week later, 2,900 students were out.
Normally, the district's absentee rate averages 4 to 5 percent.
Now it's up to 8 percent some days, said Cynthia Eghbalnia, environmental health and safety services coordinator for CPS.
Schools around the region, most recently in Fairfield City Schools and the Northwestern School District, have reported cases of H1N1. Colerain High School last week reported seven students were infected with H1N1 flu.
Kenton County Schools, which has a districtwide enrollment of about 14,000 students, is seeing attendance rates "in the mid-80s" at some schools this week, said deputy superintendent Terry Cox-Cruey. Normally, they'd be at 90 percent or higher.
At Sycamore School District, the absentee rate varies by day and building, but Superintendent Adrienne James estimated the rate at 15 to 19 percent this week, which includes all absences for various reasons. That's higher than usual for this time of year, she said.
Elementary buildings have had a lower absentee rate than other buildings in the district, James said.
At CPS and other school districts, nurses are reminding students and teachers to practice good hygiene, including frequent handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes.
School and health department officials monitor daily attendance in CPS.
Nurses even visit individual classrooms if two or three students are out with flu-like symptoms to check students' temperatures twice a day, Crumpton said.
Students with flu-like symptoms are sent to special isolation areas where they can rest without infecting others, she said.
In other H1N1 news, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than half of the adults who've been hospitalized for H1N1 have had underlying health conditions.
The agency reviewed data on 1,500 adults and some 500 children and found that among adults, 26 percent hospitalized for H1N1 had asthma, 10 percent had diabetes, 8 percent had other chronic lung diseases, 7.6 percent were immune-compromised and 6.1 percent were pregnant.
Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's influenza division, pointed out though, that about 45 percent of people over 18 who were hospitalized for H1N1 were otherwise healthy. And, she added, the "vast majority" of hospitalizations for H1N1 were in younger people.
For children, the most common underlying health issue was sickle-cell anemia and other hemoglobin disorders, Schuchat said.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091013/NEWS0102/910140334/Schools+see+more+flu-related+absences