Close schools to slow flu spread, says WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the H1N1 virus has killed more than 700 people worldwide since emerging in April and countries could consider closing schools to slow its spread.

However, the organisation said it was up to national health authorities to decide what measures they wanted to impose.

A spokesman for the Department of Education here said the closure of schools was not something that was being considered at present, although a monitoring process was continuing.

“The situation is being closely monitored by the relevant health authorities. The department has worked with the HSE to prepare a plan to cope with any eventualities,” the spokesman said.

A WHO spokeswoman said countries would be facing the pandemic at different levels at different times. “School closure is one of the mitigation measures that could be considered by countries,” she said. “It is really up to countries to consider what mitigation measures suit them.”

The WHO declared an H1N1 influenza pandemic on June 11th and last week described it as the fastest-moving pandemic ever. Before yesterday, the last death toll it announced was 429 two weeks ago.

The WHO has now asked countries to concentrate on detecting any unusual patterns of disease or spike in rates of absenteeism.

According to the WHO spokeswoman, some 125,000 laboratory-confirmed cases have now been reported worldwide.

Latest figures from the Department of Health here indicate a further eight cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the State. This brings the total number of confirmed cases here to date to 172. Of these cases, 21 are known to have been transmitted within the country.

It is estimated that at least one million people are infected in the United States alone.

The new flu strain can be treated with antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu or Relenza, although many patients recover without medical treatment. The freephone number for the HSE’s information line is 1800-941100. – (Additional reporting Reuters)