Swine flu school closed for week

Symptoms displayed by secondary school girls with swine flu in an all-Irish boarding school were mild and looked like ordinary…

Symptoms displayed by secondary school girls with swine flu in an all-Irish boarding school were mild and looked like ordinary flu, the doctor who examined the patients said yesterday.

Dr Micheál Fanning also defended the school’s decision to send the girls – who come from all over the country – back home, rather than isolate them in the school.

He said the best place for the girls was to be at home.

Coláiste Íde in Dingle has closed for seven days. About 60 of the 140 girls were presumed to have the symptoms, Dr Fanning said.