H1N1 flu pandemonium is quickly overtaking the country as school begins and fall approaches. Officials are warning that the "swine" flu may potentially affect hundreds of thousands of school-aged children nationwide.
"This virus has disproportionately affected school-aged children, and continues to pose a danger for children across our state and nation," said Margaret Donnelly, director of the Department for Health and Senior Services, in an August letter to school administrators.
Nationwide, around one million cases of the H1N1 virus have been positively diagnosed. In areas close to home, many districts are already reporting suspected cases of swine flu. In nearby Wentzville, dozens of district students have come down with flu-like symptoms. Of these students, at least 12 have tested positive to date for type A influenza-the same category of flu the swine flu falls under.
Lincoln County school districts are taking this threat seriously. The districts have prepared plans for what they will do in the event of a flu outbreak, and are also telling students and parents how they can avoid spreading flu-like symptoms.
"We will be doing everything we can to keep our schools functioning as usual during flu season," said James Chandler, Winfield R-IV superintendent. "We want to keep the school open to students and in a normal manner."
The key to this, Chandler said, is to keep any child who exhibits symptoms of flu at home.
"We need parents' help with this," he said. "This will reduce the possible spread of flu."
The Winfield district is asking parents to keep children at home for at least 24 hours after their fever breaks, without using fever-reducing medications.
The Silex R-I School District is following a similar procedure.
"As a school district, we strive for good attendance, but what is important is that if students are sick, they stay home and get better," said Silex superintendent Elaine Eversmeyer-Henderson.
One of the most important aspects of the situation, she said, is educating students.
"As we get more information, our plans are getting more refined," Eversmeyer-Henderson said. "We're focusing on education, prevention and precaution."
One way Silex is trying to prevent the spread of the flu is by placing antibacterial hand solutions and wipes around school. The nurse has also been in classrooms with students in kindergarten through fourth grade teaching proper hand washing techniques.
Both Eversmeyer-Henderson and Chandler said their districts have been in close contact with authorities at the Lincoln County Health Department. The districts, along with the health department, will be monitoring illness patterns closely and continue to update parents on any unusual activity.
According to the Lincoln County Medical Center, flu viruses are spread from person-to-person via coughing, sneezing and touching infected surfaces.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, chills and fatigue. Some have also reported diarrhea and vomiting.
For more community information about the H1N1 influenza virus, please refer to this week's article titled "H1N1 (Swine) flu update" to the right of this article.
For more information on influenza outbreak, videos can be found on The Lincoln County Journal's Web site. To view these videos, go to www.lincolncountyjournal.com and click on the "National News Video" link. There, click on the drop down menu titled "By Section" and scroll to "U.S." Another drop down menu will appear. Here, click on the link that says "Swine Flu." Videos detailing the latest news on the swine flu will appear.
