Schools

H1N1 Flu Not Diagnosed at Lincoln School

Officials stress closure had to do with "flu-like illness" and not concern over possible swine flu outbreak.

Swine flu has not been diagnosed at Lincoln School, but the school remains closed for today and tomorrow because of the cluster of students with a “flu-like illness.”

School and health department officials said none of the six absent students or two ill teachers have been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu virus. Instead, Health Officer Megan Avallone said the cluster of students, which made up 40-percent of one Kindergarten class, was large enough to warrant closure because of the possible spread of a flu virus. It is possible swine flu could be the case, but no test results have been communicated to Avallone's office.

“It’s important to remember that H1N1 is like seasonal flu,” she said. “If in Lincoln, during flu season, I saw six absent out of 15, I would still have closed the school.”

It is not known what type of illness the students have. They have all presented with flu-like symptoms including a temperature over 100 degrees and either a sore throat or cough. The decision to test for swine flu is up to the individual doctor and family, and Avallone said the town does not have the power to require a test. 

Avallone said it is possible the students could have seasonal flu, type A flu or an upper respiratory illness that is causing the problems.

Schools Superintendant Margaret Dolan said the students are doing better and Lincoln is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday morning. Until then custodial staff has been cleaning the impacted classroom and other areas of the school, including doorknobs, in order to prevent the spread of any illness. The school has been using cleaning products recommended by the Centers for Disease Control to prevent the spread of the flu illness. In addition, Dolan said her office is communicating absence data on a daily basis to the health department, instead of the normal weekly data exchange.

The closure comes at the same time as a fifth grade student at Brookside Place School in Cranford is out of school with a suspected case of swine flu. The Brookside neighborhood sits next on the border with Westfield and the school is just under a mile from Washington Elementary School. Dolan and Avallone said there is no concern over the Cranford case causing a spread of the illness in Westfield. Avallone stressed the Cranford student has not been officially diagnosed with the illness.

The officials said no consideration was given to closing all of the district’s schools. Lincoln School serves the entire town and impacted students could have siblings in other schools in the town. Lincoln families have been educated in how to care for a sick child without spreading any virus to other household members.

“In most cases it is not appropriate to close all the schools,” Dolan said.

The students’ young age has been a major factor in making the decision to close. Avallone said younger students have a harder time understanding the ways to prevent the spread of germs and it was a precaution to keep from more students getting sick. The students impacted do not have traditional desks and chairs, and share toys and other materials during the school day. In addition, the students were primarily special needs students, which could impact their understanding of the proper anti-germ etiquette.

When Lincoln students return on Wednesday, they will have an increased amount of lessons on proper personal hygiene. This will include stressing hand washing, not putting toys in your mouth and covering your mouth during sneezing and coughing. Dolan and Avallone said the Lincoln students have been getting better with personal hygiene in recent weeks.

“It’s already been reviewed in classrooms, and we’ll be going over the routines,” Dolan said.


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