Flu Cases Spur Renewed H1N1 Warnings

By John Voket &

Eliza Hallabeck

A number of local students have been exhibiting flulike symptoms and may have suffered, or are suffering, possible bouts with the H1N1 or swine influenza. Health District Director Donna Culbert renewed her warning to parents and caregivers about the dangers of allowing apparently sick children to go to school, or not keeping them home long enough to fully recover if they had exhibited flulike symptoms.

Ms Culbert’s frustration is compounded by recently revised federal and state guidelines involving testing for the swine flu strain, which have been restricted to likely clusters of the virus in health care environments.

The health director said Thursday that she had a conversation with school nurses and the Newtown Public Schools Central office regarding “what appears to be H1N1 affecting some of the students who attend the Reed Intermediate School.”

 “No, I do not have any information about additional confirmed cases in our community,” Ms Culbert said, reinforcing the state’s recent confirmation of a single diagnosed case in a middle-aged resident with no children in the school system.

“However, testing guidance and protocols have changed for the doctors and, as such, we may not get confirmation on people who are experiencing influenzalike illness,” the health director continued. “It is reasonable to believe that H1N1 is in our community and has affected some of our school children. What’s most important is that those individuals get proper care and stay home when they are sick.”

Reed Intermediate School Nurse Pat Philipp concurred saying, although there can be no clinical diagnosis for cases of H1N1, it is best for parents to notify the school when their child is sick and what symptoms the student is showing.

“If kids are sick, do not send them to school,” Ms Philipp told The Bee.

According to the state health department, a total of 767 confirmed cases have now been identified among Connecticut residents. The average age of those diagnosed is 18 years old; 44 percent are female and 52 percent are male. Fairfield County leads the state in diagnoses with 390, followed closely by New Haven County with 241.

Laboratory-confirmed cases represent only a fraction of the likely number of cases in the state because many persons with mild symptoms to not seek care from a doctor or hospital but recover at home. There have been 28 hospitalizations reported related to the novel H1N1 virus, and three deaths.

The local health district does not want residents to be alarmed.

“We want them to be careful and well-informed so they can make good decisions,” Ms Culbert said. “One of those decisions is to keep sick children at home, so they can fully recover and so they won’t spread their illness to others. And staying at home means for seven calendar days or until symptoms are gone for at least 24 hours, whichever is longer.”

 The H1N1 flu is still here, she added.

“It is still making people sick, and it could potentially cost people their lives,” Ms Culbert said. “We experience deaths with seasonal flu, and we have also experienced it with this H1N1 virus. Don’t take it lightly — I think people are becoming way too casual about this.”

Residents should take precautions to prevent getting or spreading the H1N1 flu:

*Avoid contact with sick people.

*The most important message at this time is not new: students and adults who are sick should not go to school or work. In particular, stay home if you have flu symptoms: fever and cough or sore throat, sometimes with runny or stuffy nose, body aches, vomiting or diarrhea. To avoid infecting others, please stay home and away from others for at least seven days or until symptoms have gone away for at least 24 hours, whichever is longer.

*Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

*Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

*Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

*Practice other good health habits: get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious foods.

There is good information posted on the school website to help residents, www.newtown.k12.ct.us

For more information on H1N1 Flu :

*Connecticut Flu Watch: www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch

*Connecticut Department of Public Health: www.ct.gov/dph

*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov