ANALYSIS:Back-to-school fears of swine flu outbreaks are overblown, say health experts, as most cases of the illness are mild
WITH CHILDREN returning to school in coming days in the midst of a flu pandemic, many parents are anxiously seeking out information on what to do, especially if their child has underlying health problems.
Their heightened concern about the potential for swine flu to spread quickly in schools isn’t surprising given how rapidly it spread during the summer at a number of Irish colleges, some of which were forced to close in the Donegal Gaeltacht.
In addition the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said it anticipates more illness after the school year starts because flu typically is transmitted more easily in the autumn and winter.
Rose Tully of the National Parents Council Post-Primary is advising parents who have children with underlying conditions to seek medical advice from their family doctor before sending their child back to school.
“At the end of the day protecting life is the most important thing.
“Education can be made up,” she said.
The Asthma Society of Ireland has urged parents of children with asthma, who would be at increased risk of complications if they contracted swine flu, to visit their GP to ensure their child’s condition is controlled before returning to school.
But Áine Lynch, chief executive of the National Parents Council Primary, says that in her experience parents are not concerned about sending children back to school, but about “the what ifs”, such as what will happen if there is an outbreak of swine flu in their school.
There is a considerable degree of concern in the community in general about swine flu but there have been queries too from parents in the context of schools reopening, according to Dr Martin Daly, a GP and former president of the Irish Medical Organisation.
“We are at pains to point out in our surgery that we live in daily contact with viruses that can possibly harm us and that people need to take reasonable precautions but continue with their day-to-day lives,” he said.
“We advise people if they have signs of infection we will deal with those as they arise,” he added.
The advice from the HSE is clear.
It says there is no reason to keep children out of school, and in most cases swine flu is a mild to moderate illness.
Dr Pat Doorley, national director of population health with the HSE, said parents should send their children to school, adding it was extremely important for children to have their education.
Furthermore he said there was no reason to keep children with chronic illnesses, including those with cystic fibrosis (CF), at home. But he said if parents had a particular concern about a child’s CF they should contact their CF team.
The most important thing now for parents and teachers, he said, was to teach children basic hygiene measures that could prevent the spread of swine flu.
It is spread through coughing and sneezing so children should be taught to use tissues to cover their noses and mouths when coughing and sneezing, to bin the tissues afterwards and wash their hands.
And if a child develops symptoms they should be kept at home for seven days.
If, in time, a number of cases of swine flu occur in a particular class the whole class may be sent home, or if there were a lot of cases in a school the school might be closed, but this would be based on a risk assessment by public health doctors, Dr Doorley said.
He added that there will be chest infections going around when schools reopen, a lot of which may not be flu, but where there are real concerns a GP’s advice should be sought.
Dr Doorley stressed he was not aware of any country that is advising children not to go back to school.
Meanwhile given that pregnant women are also considered at higher risk of complications from flu, what’s the advice for pregnant teachers?
Dr Doorley says the overall risk to pregnant women of getting complications is low.
They should continue working as normal unless they develop symptoms, in which case they should seek advice from their GP.
Symptoms, are similar to the common cold, but with flu onset is usually sudden with a high temperature, headache, runny nose, sore throat, cough, muscle ache, exhaustion and sometimes diarrhoea and vomiting.
* For more information visit www.swineflu.ie