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Several swine flu cases confirmed at Pittston Area
By Erin Moody (Staff Writer)
Published: October 8, 2009
Word of the H1N1 cases, commonly known as swine flu, spread quickly in Pittston Area. By Wednesday, one out of five students in the district was absent. At the high school, almost three out of 10 students stayed home.
Between Monday and Wednesday, parents reported 10 to 12 doctor-confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, Superintendent George Cosgrove said.
Phone messages informed parents the district received notice of the H1N1 cases and emphasized the importance of good hygiene and frequent hand washing. Pittston Area will use phone messages to let parents know if the situation changes, Cosgrove said.
Most of the confirmed H1N1 cases are middle and high school students. One student had returned to class by Wednesday, he said. No other school district in Luzerne County is reporting confirmed cases of H1N1 in students or staff. Wilkes and Misericordia universities each report one confirmed student case.
As of Wednesday morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Health was not aware of the eight cases the district knew about at the time, he said. The district learned of additional cases later in the day.
The state Department of Health updated its online count of probable and confirmed cases of H1N1 on Wednesday, and Luzerne County went up two confirmed cases to a total of 50. Where those cases are and whether they include any Pittston students cannot be released, but department spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said they are working with Pittston Area on the situation.
That cooperation includes ensuring measures are in place to prevent the spread of the disease, she said. The Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control recommend schools encourage frequent hand washing, make alcohol-based hand sanitizer readily available, separate children with flu-like symptoms and tell parents to keep children at home for at least 24 hours after their fevers subside without the help of fever-reducing medicine.
Healthy children should not be kept out of school because of H1N1 concerns.
"Our recommendation is if children are healthy there is no reason they shouldn't be in school," Kriedeman said. "If your child is not healthy and is sick, then they should stay home."
Districts should monitor the number of absent students and the reasons why they are out, she said.
Typical absentee rates for Pittston Area range between 4 percent and 6 percent. During flu season, which typically begins in October or November and peaks in March for Pennsylvanians, it's not unusual for 10 percent to 11 percent of students to be absent, Cosgrove said
District-wide Wednesday, 19.7 percent of students, or 663, were absent. At the high school, 27.1 percent of students, or 299, were absent.
While many absences were due to illness, Cosgrove said he did receive phone calls from parents who were not sending their children because of H1N1 concerns.
Ellen Aldrich of Avoca said she is considering giving her 11th grade son an extra-long Columbus Day weekend and keeping him home the rest of the school week as a precaution. School is closed Monday for the holiday. The vaccine should have been available before school began and students should have been inoculated, she said, but Aldrich trusts Pittston Area will be able to handle the situation.
"Absolutely it's serious. Do I think it's as bad as they say it is? It's just something to deal with," she said. "But it's going to be tough to combat, so it's going to be a difficult situation."
http://www.citizensvoice.com/news/s...rmed_at_pittston_area?localLinksEnabled=false
By Erin Moody (Staff Writer)
Published: October 8, 2009
Word of the H1N1 cases, commonly known as swine flu, spread quickly in Pittston Area. By Wednesday, one out of five students in the district was absent. At the high school, almost three out of 10 students stayed home.
Between Monday and Wednesday, parents reported 10 to 12 doctor-confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, Superintendent George Cosgrove said.
Phone messages informed parents the district received notice of the H1N1 cases and emphasized the importance of good hygiene and frequent hand washing. Pittston Area will use phone messages to let parents know if the situation changes, Cosgrove said.
Most of the confirmed H1N1 cases are middle and high school students. One student had returned to class by Wednesday, he said. No other school district in Luzerne County is reporting confirmed cases of H1N1 in students or staff. Wilkes and Misericordia universities each report one confirmed student case.
As of Wednesday morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Health was not aware of the eight cases the district knew about at the time, he said. The district learned of additional cases later in the day.
The state Department of Health updated its online count of probable and confirmed cases of H1N1 on Wednesday, and Luzerne County went up two confirmed cases to a total of 50. Where those cases are and whether they include any Pittston students cannot be released, but department spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said they are working with Pittston Area on the situation.
That cooperation includes ensuring measures are in place to prevent the spread of the disease, she said. The Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control recommend schools encourage frequent hand washing, make alcohol-based hand sanitizer readily available, separate children with flu-like symptoms and tell parents to keep children at home for at least 24 hours after their fevers subside without the help of fever-reducing medicine.
Healthy children should not be kept out of school because of H1N1 concerns.
"Our recommendation is if children are healthy there is no reason they shouldn't be in school," Kriedeman said. "If your child is not healthy and is sick, then they should stay home."
Districts should monitor the number of absent students and the reasons why they are out, she said.
Typical absentee rates for Pittston Area range between 4 percent and 6 percent. During flu season, which typically begins in October or November and peaks in March for Pennsylvanians, it's not unusual for 10 percent to 11 percent of students to be absent, Cosgrove said
District-wide Wednesday, 19.7 percent of students, or 663, were absent. At the high school, 27.1 percent of students, or 299, were absent.
While many absences were due to illness, Cosgrove said he did receive phone calls from parents who were not sending their children because of H1N1 concerns.
Ellen Aldrich of Avoca said she is considering giving her 11th grade son an extra-long Columbus Day weekend and keeping him home the rest of the school week as a precaution. School is closed Monday for the holiday. The vaccine should have been available before school began and students should have been inoculated, she said, but Aldrich trusts Pittston Area will be able to handle the situation.
"Absolutely it's serious. Do I think it's as bad as they say it is? It's just something to deal with," she said. "But it's going to be tough to combat, so it's going to be a difficult situation."
http://www.citizensvoice.com/news/s...rmed_at_pittston_area?localLinksEnabled=false