A sixth grade student at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School was
hospitalized last week with severe swine flu-like symptoms, but
she’s just one of many school children and community members who
may have contracted the strain of influenza responsible for last
spring’s scare.
A sixth grade student at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School was hospitalized last week with severe swine flu-like symptoms, but she’s just one of many school children and community members who may have contracted the strain of influenza responsible for last spring’s scare.
Although the Solorsano student’s case was not confirmed as swine flu, she tested positive for influenza and the district is “going on the assumption that it’s H1N1,” said District Head Nurse Eileen Bontempi.
Monday alone, Bontempi sent about a dozen Solorsano students home with flu-like symptoms. Last week, 88 students were out sick, compared to 22 during the same time last year, Solorsano Principal Sal Tomasello said.
“This is very early to be getting the flu,” Bontempi said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu season has begun early, and “nearly all of the influenza that we’re seeing is this novel H1N1 virus,” said Daniel Jernigan, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC in a press briefing. “It’s a very strange thing for us to see this amount of influenza at this time of year.”
Though district attendance numbers were not immediately available, Bontempi reported increased absenteeism at all district schools.
“The virus hasn’t gained strength so far,” Bontempi said. “We just have a lot of people getting it.”
It’s also uncertain whether these students have contracted the novel H1N1 virus or have simply fallen victim to the seasonal flu, Bontempi said. Like the Solorsano girl, students throughout the district have tested positive for the flu but the girl’s illness was the most severe case, Bontempi said. So far, the district has not received word of any confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus strain responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic but it’s “very likely” that some of the cases are H1N1 and the district is treating them as such, Bontempi said.
However, attitudes have changed dramatically since swine flu scares closed schools across the country last spring, Bontempi said.
“It’s not the scary virus everyone thought it was,” she said.
Though county public health officials know more about the virus than they did at its outbreak last spring and plan to roll out 240,000 doses of the swine flu vaccine within the next couple weeks, Bontempi urges families to practice preventative care. Hands should be washed frequently and thoroughly with soap. Bontempi advised singing the tune “Happy Birthday” twice while lathering up to ensure at least 15 seconds of hand washing. When children do get sick, parents should isolate them and keep them home for a full 24 hours after the child’s fever breaks, she said.
“Just go home and stay home and get better,” Bontempi said.
Also, people should get the seasonal flu shot available now and the H1N1 vaccine when it’s available, she said.
The strain of H1N1 responsible for last spring’s pandemic is “acting very much the same as the seasonal flu,” said Joy Alexiou, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Public Heath Department. However, the novel strain has been known to affect young people more than the elderly, unlike seasonal flu. Those most at risk will receive the vaccine first, Alexiou said.
