Seems I am not the only one with an issue about keeping the schools open… for that matter, opening them at all until an effective and safe vaccine is available and the kids are immune to H1N1. Hey CDC – You have an issue with WHO’s findings and school guidance recommendation?
This is from CDC on school closures on Tuesday, May 5, 2009
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/05/20090505a.html
“As CDC’s daily press briefings have illustrated, much has been learned quickly about the virus’s severity and its spread. We have learned that in many communities, the virus is widely circulating. When influenza becomes common in a community, it is unlikely that actions such as closing schools or daycare facilities are effective when it comes to slowing or stopping the spread of influenza viruses. Instead, such measures bring significant cost—such as interrupting student learning—without a significant public health benefit. In addition, we have learned that the disease currently being caused by this novel flu virus appears to be similar with that typically caused by seasonal influenza. Although many people may get sick, the available data do not indicate we are facing an unusually severe influenza virus.”
“With the modified policy being issued today, CDC no longer recommends that communities with a laboratory-confirmed case of influenza A H1N1 consider adopting school dismissal or childcare closure measures. Rather, in line with policies being undertaken in Seattle, New York and Canada, CDC has modified its policy to recommend implementation of measures that focus on keeping all students, faculty and staff with symptoms of influenza out of schools and childcare facilities during their period of illness and recuperation, when they are potentially infectious to others.”
And from WHO on Fri Sep 11, 2009:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090911/hl_nm/us_flu_who_schools_1
School closures can slow flu, timing critical: WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) – Closing schools at the start of an H1N1 flu outbreak can greatly slow its spread and buy time to build up drug stocks, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
Classrooms have played a role in the fast transmission of swine flu in New York and other locations. As educational institutions welcome back students across the northern hemisphere, many are considering how to reduce infection risks.
Certain steps can slow the spread of H1N1, the United Nations agency said. The greatest benefits come “when schools are closed very early in an outbreak, ideally before 1 percent of the population falls ill,” it said.
“Under ideal conditions, school closure can reduce the demand for health care by an estimated 30-50 percent at the peak of the pandemic.”
It added: “However, if schools close too late in the course of a community-wide outbreak, the resulting reduction in transmission is likely to be very limited.”
Reducing the number of people needing medical care is especially important because clinics risk being overrun.
The H1N1 virus has killed at least 3,205 people worldwide since emerging last April in North America and is the predominant flu virus circulating in both hemispheres, according to the WHO’s latest weekly update issued separately on Friday.
Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and other South American states are reporting higher levels of respiratory disease. The flu is on the rise in India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and eastern Europe.
H1N1 usually causes mild symptoms, but pregnant women and people with conditions such as asthma are at higher risk.
School closures can provide extra time for authorities to build up supplies of antiviral drugs such as Roche’s Tamiflu or vaccines being developed by companies like Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Aventis.
Students, teachers and other staff should stay at home if they are feeling sick, and schools should set aside space to isolate anyone who takes ill on the premises, it added.
School closures carry a hidden economic cost, as parents stay at home to take care of children. Studies estimate closures can lead to the absence of 16 percent of the workforce, in addition to normal levels of absenteeism and absenteeism due to illness, the WHO said.
