Ocean Twp. schools monitor flu cases

OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Officials with the Ocean Township school district are calling on parents to closely monitor their children for any flu-like symptoms after the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission confirmed that a township student was infected with the A-H1N1 influenza virus last week.

According to Superintendent of Schools Thomas Pagano, the child, a student at the township's intermediate school, was diagnosed with the virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu, and was being treated for the illness.

A second student at the school was also suspected of being infected with the virus.

The sick children were both members of a cluster of students at the intermediate school who were exhibiting flu-like symptoms, Pagano explained.

In accordance with district protocol, officials informed the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission about the cluster, which subsequently visited the school and tested the group on May 29.

According to Pagano, the district was informed of the infection on June 1 and immediately issued a Code Red reverse 9- 1-1 alert to district parents. Pagano said the district also sent a letter home with students on June 2 further explaining the situation.

Pagano said that while there is cause for concern about the virus, there is no reason for district parents to be overly alarmed.

"Seasonal flu is still being seen in our area as well," Pagano said in his letter to district parents.

"So some children who have been tested for H1N1 flu actually have been diagnosed with regular influenza instead," Pagano explained.

"School closure is not advised for a suspected or confirmed case of novel influenza A (H1N1) and, in general, is not advised unless there is a magnitude of faculty or student absenteeism that interferes with the school's ability to function," Pagano said in the letter.

Prior to knowing if the infected student did indeed have H1N1, Pagano said the district ordered cleaning crews to scrub down each of the township's five schools as a precautionary measure.

"Before we were informed on Tuesday of this confirmed case we sent disinfecting crews into all of the schools on the weekend and they disinfected all surfaces," Pagano said last week.

However, Pagano said, this particular strain of the influenza virus dies after two to eight hours of exposure outside of the human body, and so had the district chosen not to send out the disinfecting crews, any traces of the virus may have died over night.

"Once the school is emptied out and sits vacant, all of those viruses die off," Pagano explained.

Since learning of the infection, Pagano said, the district's cleaning crews are working to ensure that each of the township's schools is thoroughly cleaned.

"When our night crews come in they are still cleaning wiping and using state- approved products that kill the stuff on contact," Pagano explained.

Additionally, the district's school nurses have been put on alert to report any flu-like symptoms exhibited by students and are monitoring every reported absence.

The symptoms exhibited by those students who have been infected or are suspected to have been infected with the virus have thus far been very mild, Pagano said.

"I suspect not just in our schools but in other schools, there may have been students whose symptoms were so mild that they were treated as if they had the regular flu and it may have run its course without anyone knowing it," Pagano said.

According to information provided on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) website, novel influenza A (H1N1) is a new flu virus of swine origin that was first detected in April.

"The virus is infecting people and is spearing from person-to-person, sparking a growing outbreak of illness in the United States," the website states.

"It's thought that … H1N1 flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread; mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus," the site states.

Because H1N1 is a new virus, the CDC believes that most people will not have immunity to it, which may result in the illness being more severe and widespread as a result.

T

here is no vaccine to protect against

this form of the flu virus and the CDC anticipates that there will eventually be more cases and hospitalization reported in the coming weeks.

So far, some 17 cases of the illness have been confirmed in Monmouth County.

Common symptoms associated with H1N1 include fever, cough, sore throat, headaches, chills and vomiting or diarrhea.

In order to prevent becoming infected or passing the flu on to others, it is recommended that proper hygiene be practiced regularly.

Students and parents are advised to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for approximately 20 seconds.

Contact Daniel Howley at

dhowley@gmnews.com