Local school districts step up precautions against swine flu

School nurses are beefing up their knowledge about the swine flu virus and custodians are make sure everything is clean at area schools in an attempt to prevent, or contain, any local outbreaks of the sickness.

The deadly outbreak, which first started in Mexico, has spread to California and other states and resulted in the temporary closure of Fair Oaks school.

For that reason, Galt elementary district Superintendent Karen Schauer said the Sacramento County Division of Public Health is advising schools to take precautions to prevent the latest flu strain.

Letters in both Spanish and English were sent home to parents within the district Monday to better explain the virus and precautions to take. Schauer said the district nurse has also briefed health staff about the virus to assist any parents and employees with questions, although there were reportedly none on Monday, Schauer said.

Additionally, school custodians planned to use detergent-based cleaners to prevent germs. Lodi Unified spent Monday getting information on the virus out to the school principals with plans to update the district’s Web site, www.lodiusd.net, to include additional information for parents, according to Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer.

Meanwhile, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell reminded school officials throughout the state of posters available that remind students and staff of ways to help prevent the spread of germs and viruses.

“I am very concerned about preliminary reports in Mexico and Southern California about the emergence of a swine flu outbreak,” O’Connell said in a press release issued Friday.

It is unknown whether the weekend news affected attendance at local schools Monday.

The California Department of Education has worked with the California Department of Health Services to provide the “Keep Our Schools Healthy” toolkit in multiple languages.

At Heritage Elementary School, where many of the students have family in Mexico, Principal Maria Cervantes said school staff and students are especially worried about the families of two students who just recently traveled to Mexico.

The students are on independent study and Cervantes said at first she was relieved to learn that the were not traveling to Mexico City. Now that the sickness has spread to other parts of Mexico, Cervantes said she’s worried about their well being.

“Our hope is that they are safe and aren’t impacted by this flu,” she said.

Lodi News-Sentinel City Editor Andrew Adams contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Jennifer Bonnett at jenniferb@lodinews.com.

How can you prevent the flu?

According to the San Joaquin County Public Health Services department, the symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal influenza. Influenza viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with influenza viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. There are common-sense steps everyone can take right now to prevent getting sick. These include:

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

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

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

If you get sick with flu, it is recommended that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them. Avoid spreading germs by not touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

— News-Sentinel staff

Swine flu at a glance

Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and government officials:

Deaths: 149, all in Mexico, 20 confirmed as swine flu and rest suspected.

Sickened: 1,995 people in Mexico got pneumonia but swine flu not yet confirmed. 42 confirmed in U.S., including 28 at one New York City school. Elsewhere, six confirmed in Canada; two confirmed in Scotland and seven suspected; at least 10 suspected in New Zealand; one confirmed and 17 suspected in Spain; one suspected in France; one suspected in Israel.

U.s. states with cases: 28 in New York, eight in California, three in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio.

Safety measures in Mexico: All schools suspended until May 6. In Mexico City, surgical masks given to the public, venues closed and public events canceled. President assumed new powers to isolate infected people. World Bank loaning Mexico more than $200 million.

Safety measures in U.S: Public health emergency declared. Roughly 12 million doses of Tamiflu from federal stockpile to be delivered to states. Nonessential travel to Mexico discouraged. Travelers questioned at Mexico border. Some schools closed in New York City, Texas, California, South Carolina and Ohio.

Safety measures worldwide: WHO raises alert to Phase 4, noting disease spreads easily but isn’t pandemic.

European Union health commissioner urges Europeans to postpone nonessential travel to U.S. and Mexico. Hong Kong and South Korea warn against travel to parts of Mexico. Airports screen travelers from Mexico and United States. Some countries ban pork imports.

Economic effects: World stock markets fall as investors worry that outbreak could derail economic recovery, with airlines taking brunt of sell-off.

A widespread outbreak could batter the tourism, food and transportation industries in particular, deepening the recession in the U.S. and possibly worldwide.

— The Associated Press

Reader Feedback

Giovanina wrote on Apr 28, 2009 7:02 PM:

" anotherconcerned1 wrote on Apr 28, 2009 6:31 AM:

" We should be concerned about this.LUSDs Live Oak Elementary has a number of students ( 50+) that live out at the migrant camp. People are arriving at the camp from Mexico constantly. Is anybody in the school district, SJ county, or the CA government looking at the migrant camps with more scrutiny? Are the people who live at the camps being educated about the way this disease spreads and its symptoms? Will LUSD send a flyer home to parents (at least) like Galt did? We are not panicking, but we are very concerned.... "

NO, LUSD won't send out a memo because it costs money in paper and/or mailing. They will email a memo to schools and teachers hoping that they will use their own paper to print out the flyers. LUSD is great about shifting all the financial burden on the schools. "

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wtf wrote on Apr 28, 2009 2:19 PM:

" Aimee thanks for the link! Regarding incubation period, from the SacBee article you linked to, it said:

"The incubation period for the swine flu in the United States is two to seven days, he said, "which is typical for what you see with an influenza virus."

The Fort Detrick critters "disappeared" on the 22nd, the first I heard of anyone getting sick was last Friday, the 24th; this is two days...the minimum incubation period.

What has me wondering is the timing; people were demanding answers with the Tea Parties; we have the ongoing economic implosion; torture scandals and Jane Harman and AIPAC spy scandal.

The public are/were getting PO'd; what better way to scare and distract them than release something so they focus on themselves and stop questioning the government. LOL! "

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Aimee wrote on Apr 28, 2009 2:01 PM:

" wtf: That IS rather strange. But I am wondering about incubation periods. Is this enough time for something to manifest itself if just recently missing from the lab?

In the Sacramento Bee, O'Connell is quoted saying that some public schools don't even have soap and that parents should donate wipes and disinfectant. Yet no mention of this in the Sentinel? We're lucky our kids at least have access to soap.

Here's the link to the article in the Bee:

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1816682.html "

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wtf wrote on Apr 28, 2009 7:58 AM:

" Then there's this little tidbit about this current flu that makes me highly suspicious:

"It is genetically different from the fully human H1N1 seasonal influenza virus that has been circulating globally for the past few years. The new flu virus contains DNA typical to avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses."

Ron Paul has a few words to say about this current situation and how it's being handled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB5-Y08qbjo "

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wtf wrote on Apr 28, 2009 7:58 AM:

" From the article: "Roughly 12 million doses of Tamiflu from federal stockpile to be delivered to states."

Hmmmm.....guess Rumsfeld didn't sell all his Tamiflu when we had that flu epidemic back during the Bush Jr. years and I'm thinking it might be about to expire.

And I'm real curious about the timing of this event. Last Wednesday, April 22, Ft. Detrick had some nasty little critters disappear from its bio-containment lab.

Fort Detrick disease samples may be missing

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=89293 "

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anotherconcerned1 wrote on Apr 28, 2009 6:31 AM:

" We should be concerned about this.LUSDs Live Oak Elementary has a number of students ( 50+) that live out at the migrant camp. People are arriving at the camp from Mexico constantly. Is anybody in the school district, SJ county, or the CA government looking at the migrant camps with more scrutiny? Are the people who live at the camps being educated about the way this disease spreads and its symptoms? Will LUSD send a flyer home to parents (at least) like Galt did? We are not panicking, but we are very concerned.... "

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