The H1N1 influenza virus, informally called the swine flu, is making the rounds in Sweet Home, and attendance has fallen in several schools this week, officials say.
District 55 Supt. Larry Horton said Tuesday morning that more than 20 percent of students at Foster, Hawthorne,
Crawfordsville and Sweet Home Junior High were absent Monday.
If that absentee rate were to continue through Wednesday, the county Health Department “would send someone out to talk about it.”
Five percent of students absent per day is about normal. Until Monday, absences had been running between 5 and 8 percent.
Horton said school closures would likely be a last resort.
“We’ve heard from the beginning with the swine flu that closing schools is not an option,” he said.
Horton noted that Monday was the first school day after Halloween and he said he suspects that may have contributed to the empty seats.
“I’ve noticed, during my career in education, that on the day after Halloween there is usually a higher-than-normal absentee rate,” he said.
The H1N1 is a fall virus preceding the typical flu season, District Nurse Jane Bubak said. The typical flu season runs from around December through February.
“We do want to make sure parents are aware that it is here,” Horton said of H1N1. They need to take extra precautions, and children with fevers need to stay home.
The swine flu virus is the main influenza virus circulating around the nation right now, Bubak said.
“It’s not bad, but we are getting these cases where the doctors are saying it’s H1N1,” she said.
The district has several cases in every school, she said.
Doctors are no longer testing everybody, said Jane Fleischbein, supervisory public health nurse with the Health Department. The only time they test now is when someone is hospitalized.
“We’ve certainly had a lot of influenza-like illness out there,” Fleischbein said.
Schools are taking precautions around their buildings.
At Sweet Home Junior High, hand sanitizers are in all the rooms, said school Secretary Marilyn Richards, and in the office, staff members wipe down the counter about once an hour.
Teachers are being extra cautious when a student shows possible flu symptoms, sending them to the office immediately, said Counselor Shelly Roe.
“We really haven’t had an extra number of people sick,” Richards said. Friday, SHJH had 18 absences from among more than 350 students.
About the time H1N1 runs its course, the normal flu season will start, Bubak said; and after that, health officials are anticipating another round of H1N1 in the spring.
The district is hearing that parents are concerned because vaccines have not arrived yet, she said. The district and pharmacies have been providing vaccines for the typical seasonal flu, but little has arrived in Linn County schools for the H1N1.
The Linn County Health Department is handling the H1N1 vaccinations, and when it arrives, the Health Department will provide shots free at the high school for persons ages 6 months through 24.
The county has had small shipments of the vaccine, Fleischbein said. Her agency has administered vaccines at smaller districts where there was enough vaccine to go around, including Harrisburg and Scio. Emergency responders and health workers also have had vaccines.
The Health Department is working with District 55 to set a date soon, Fleischbein said.
In Sweet Home, the first signs of infection have tended to be fever, vomiting or headaches, Bubak said. Other symptoms include sore throat, cough, body aches, fatigue and diarrhea.
“The fevers come on quickly, and parents need to be just diligent watching out for fevers,” she said. They should give their children Tylenol and plenty of liquid because the fever leads to dehydration.
After a fever breaks, Bubak said, parents should keep their child home for another full day to avoid spreading the disease.
Here are tips for dealing with the flu threat:
– Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
– Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not your hands.
– Get your family vaccinated for both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu when available.
– Stay 3 feet back from other people.
– Drink liquids to flush away inhaled germs.
– Sick family members should stay in a separate room in the house to limit contact with household members who are not sick.
– Do not give aspirin to children or teenagers. It can cause Reye’s syndrome.
– Make sure sick family members get plenty of rest.
– Check with your doctor if family members have chronic medical conditions.
– Seek medical attention immediately for fast or difficult breathing, bluish or gray skin color, not drinking enough fluids, not urinating or no tears when crying, severe or persistent vomiting, not waking up or responding, being so irritable that the child does not want to be held, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion or flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.