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Subject: Swine flu in N. Illinois Mon May 04, 2009 9:01 pm |
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Two area school districts have closed as precautionary measures after probable swine flu cases have surfaced.
The Kinnikinnick School District in the Roscoe area will become the first in Winnebago County to close its four schools for at least seven days starting today after a child in the district has an unconfirmed but probable case of the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu.
In Boone County, the Belvidere district decided on Friday to close starting today.
Kinnikinnick Superintendent Bob Lauber and Mike Bacon, public health director for the Winnebago County Health Department, made the announcement Sunday.Key dates in the swine flu outbreak
April 24: Mexico confirms 20 deaths from swine flu and at least 943 were sick from the suspected flu. That number has since been revised down.
April 26: The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. climbs to 20 in five states.
April 27: The World Health Organization raises its pandemic alert status to Phase 4, meaning there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country.
Tuesday: Students in the Rockford School District receive letters to bring home explaining swine flu, its symptoms and preventive measures.
Wednesday: The Winnebago County Health Department opened a Swine-origin Influenza A hot line, 815-720-4242. It will be open initially from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.
Friday: Belvidere School District closes all 12 schools after a person affiliated with it is has a probable diagnosis of H1N1.
Sunday: Kinnikinnick district cancels school after a child is determined to have a probable diagnosis of H1N1; three confirmed cases of H1N1 in Illinois.
— The Associated Press and Register Star archives
“We reached a joint decision that we need to be very cautious at this point in the early days of this outbreak so that we do put in place all that is necessary to minimize the spread of this problem in our community and surrounding areas,” Bacon said.
Lauber said he made the decision Sunday to close the district’s schools until further notice.
“Obviously this decision isn’t made lightly,” he said. “Missing school and closing school is something done only in an emergency or in a pre-emptive way to prevent the spread of this influenza.”
The Belvidere School District closed its 12 schools after a probable, but not yet confirmed case, arose from a non-Boone County resident.
Belvidere Superintendent Mike Houselog said the district will make decisions about future closures on a day-by-day basis.
“Right now we’re just going to take it a day at a time until we get some confirmation back from the CDC,” he said. “We’re encouraging parents to have a plan, regardless of what it is, to have a plan is the big thing.”
Further testing is being done to determine if the case is swine flu, Boone County Assistant Public Health Administrator Stephanie Seaworth.
“I’m hoping that we have results in the next day from the CDC, so we know what we’re dealing with,” she said.
Schools close to limit the exposure of children to the illness. In a school, a child might be exposed to 500 people, Seaworth said. Just by keeping them at home where they’re exposed to only a handful of people reduces their risk.
“It’s going to be a parental prerogative for parents on how they police their own children,” she said.
According to the Winnebago County Health Department, there are two probable cases of swine flu in the county. The first was announced Saturday.
“The Kinnikinnick student is a probable case yet to be confirmed by more specific testing by CDC,” Bacon explained.
Parents react Tanya McCray is the mother of three children ranging in age from 9 to 13. She’s thought about what she could do to safeguard her children from the H1N1 virus if it showed up in Rockford schools.
“I wouldn’t know what to do,” she said. “I would probably keep them home.”
Barb Pfluger-Fey, mother of six and a religion teacher at Boylan Catholic High School, took a trip to Logli Supermarket on Rockton Avenue on Sunday with her 14-year-old daughter, Grace Fey. Pfluger-Fey hopes the fuss over the swine flu will pass.
“Let it pass, let it just be,” she said. “I think it’s good practice, but there’s too much precaution. It’s good in the long run, if it came up again, we’d know what to do, but it’s too much.”
If patients are worried about their health, they should contact their physician for guidance, Dr. Kathleen Kelly, chief medical officer at SwedishAmerican Hospital said.
Kelly warned that if parents have sick children, they should exercise caution and find proper child care and avoid sending them to day care facilities and schools where other children could be exposed.
“Clearly you want to minimize contact with healthy people to minimize infection,” she said. “This does pose a practical problem for working parents. You don’t really want to cohort children with other sick children because they may not have the same infection. This is a major inconvenience, I know, for working parents. Healthy children certainly could be kept together, but ill children should be segregated from healthy children whenever possible.”
Open schools Hononegah High School in Rockton is prepared should a health emergency present itself to the school, said School Board President Dave Kurlinkus.
“We’ve got a plan in place in case there is any kind of pandemic,” Kurlinkus said. “My understanding is that the initial communication comes from the county health department to our superintendent. I checked with them and there are no reported cases or suspected cases. We’ve got a plan for it.”
The school was in the process of sending out an e-mail and phone message to parents to inform them that unless something changed drastically, students would be in session for the school week.
At Prairie Hill School District, notifications that school would be in session were also sent out Sunday, School Board President TJ Larsen said.
“(Superintendent) Rehl just sent a mass message out to Prairie Hill parents to let them know we are not closing,” Larsen said. “The school has a plan, we have the health department guidelines and would go by the CDC recommendations. We have not had any cases at Prairie Hill. We trust the administration is doing everything to the best interest of our students.”
At South Beloit High School, discussions regarding what to do if it is affected by the virus could come in the early morning hours, Principal Matt Vosberg said.
“We haven’t had a lot of discussion on it since most of the issues have surfaced over the weekend, but we have a meeting first thing (this morning) and will likely talk about it then,” he said.
President of the Rockford School Board Dave Kelley said Rockford Schools aren’t alarmed, but are ready.
“There’s no reason to close the school. You’ll close the school once they get a case. A letter went out to parents. That suffices until we know we have something more to deal with,” Kelley said. “Overreacting is not a good thing to do. There’s not been a case in the Rockford school system; therefore, there has been no reason to close any schools.”
Sandi Johnson, president of the Harlem Board of Education, said that as of Sunday evening school is still on.
“I am second on the phone tree, so I imagine as soon as Dr. (Julie) Morris hears anything, then I would. So far, there’s been no call,” she said. Fliers being posted Beginning today area clinics and hospitals will post fliers to help patients with swine flu-like symptoms navigate care.
The fliers will tell people who have active respiratory symptoms like a cough, sore throat or fever to put on a mask that will be provided for them. They also will have directions such as cover your mouth and stay home if you are symptomatic. |
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