It seems like it is in the news every time to turn it on or open the paper. The H1I! virus. School districts are preparing plans to comfort parents as to what they would do should it affect our area. Parents are worried watching their children for any sign that they might possibly have contracted the virus. Recently, I read a very interesting article from www.cnn.com talking about this particular subject and how it is affecting their school system. Now that the United States has had their first "official" swine flu death I am sure that more schools will be looking at plans if they don't have one already. I know my school district already had a plan in place before I really knew much of what it was. Now I feel that I have been educated enough to talk about it comfortably.
This past weekend I came down with a really bad case of strep throat. I went to the doctor and was questioned in depth about my experience with visiting Mexico and if I had been in contact with anyone that visited recently. The "flu like" symptoms of strep throat are very similar to those of the swine flu so the doctors were extra careful. During the same time I started to feel sick a colleague of mine also started to feel under the weather. She did not have strep throat and is still feeling crummy. Now the doctors have started administering swine flu tests on her and it quickly hits home how scary this virus is.
This article talked in depth about how NYC schools are nervous about the H1I1 virus and instead of taking chances they are just closing schools down temporarily because parents are calling in with reports that their children are feeling "flu like" symptoms. One man who was an assistant principal at a NYC school died this past Sunday having contracted the disease. He was also said to have an underlying condition as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked eight U.S. deaths to the flu outbreak, but had not confirmed a link to H1N1 in the Utah death as of Wednesday evening (CNN, 2009).
Even though it is scary to think about how this virus can affect our lives so suddenly I feel very good that we are doing a good job of preparing for it. It is better to be aware of the situation and have a plan than be surprised and cause panic.
Brunswick, D. (2009, May 20). Utah reports first swine flu death; NYC has closed 21 schools. Retrieved May 27, 2009, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/20/swine.flu.death/index.html#cnnSTCText
Why do HS students drop out?
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The Baltimore Sun reported that hundreds of educators in Maryland met in
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14 years ago
The Swine Flu scare seems to have tapered off a bit. We'll have to see what happens in the fall when school resumes. There is a good chance that the virus could mutate into something worse, and if that happens schools will be faced with new pressures.
ReplyDeleteSchools are part of the line of defense when it comes to the possibility of an epidemic. Lice breakouts are one example of schools being faced with having to monitor the status of individual students and how they may affect everyone. When I was young, head checks were common.
A deadly flu is more serious of course. What steps should schools take to minimize an infection? How do we work with parents who don't understand or ignore hygiene practices and the basic care of their children.
In any case sick kids as well as adults need to stay home from school. With two parents working, it is often difficult to find someone to care for a sick child--daycares won't take them. As a result, kids coming down with a virus are sent to school.
Of course, we also have the adults that subscribe to the "just suck it up" theory and insist on going to work and spread the bug around.
If the swine flu does worsen,school will play an important role in educating the community. They will also have to walk a fine line when it comes to closing down to interrupt the contagious cycle.
Time will tell. It could be an interesting school year.
I think the H1N1 is a classic example of America's ability to overreact. Yes it is a bad thing, and yes people have died--generally only people who have other "underlying conditions". Also when you look at the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths vs. the regular old flu that goes around every year--the H1N1 is miniscule in comparison. I felt very much like the H1N1 hit becauase of a slow news cycle and then just continued to spin itself out of control.
ReplyDeleteI also feel this is a classic example of the media scaring America into some sort of stupified zombism which leads to hundreds of thousands of people walking around with gas masks because someone sneezed. I am sorry that I sound so cynical about the whole thing, I do think it is awful people have died, but are we getting this excited and up in arms every time the flu breaks out? If all of the people who had an untimely passing due to the flu virus every year made the news there would have been no time at all to even report the H1N1.
With all of the different types of diseases and sickness are that are being found every week it is hard to prepare for a lot of them. Sometimes it seems easier to just close school and come back at another time, but I do agree with you on being prepared for something like that to occur. Schools are really a hot bed for different types of illness to go around and it seems like one kid gets something and passes it on to another and its like a wild fire. Being prepared and having a plan is the best way to try and defuse situations like that. I know I really try and implement a washing your hands policy in my classroom and really stress the importance trying to eat and drink healthy thinks like orange juice and water. Part of preparing is letting your students know how they can avoid these situations.
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