Expect fewer flu reports

Don't be surprised if a case of H1N1 pops up at your child's school this fall.

And don't be surprised if, unlike last spring, you don't get a note or phone call every time there's a new case. Or if the school stays open.

More people are expected to get the virus as it continues to spread. That's why school and state health experts say it probably won't make sense to report every new case to parents. And the symptoms of the new flu and the seasonal one are so similar that it can be tough to tell them apart.

Even though H1N1 has produced mild symptoms so far, parents still worry about their children getting sick.

More than 75 parents and others turned out Tuesday night for a meeting on H1N1 at Westside High School in Omaha. The district has had a number of H1N1 cases reported by parents this school year, but isn't sure exactly how many.

About 10 percent of the high school's students were absent or went home sick on Tuesday, a high number for this time of year. Some of the absent students had fevers and other flu-like symptoms, although not necessarily H1N1.

Parent Patti Jordan said she suspects that her daughter, a junior, has H1N1. She's had a 101 degree temperature and dry cough. The mother said she came to the meeting to learn more about the symptoms.

Dr. Adi Pour of the Douglas County Health Department told the group that she didn't think Westside had a disproportionate number of cases compared with other schools.

Dr. Joann Schaefer, chief medical officer for Nebraska, agreed that once H1N1 begins spreading this fall, there probably won't be a need to notify parents about every new case.

“I do expect to see outbreaks and see a fair amount of it,'' she said in an interview on Tuesday.

Children and young adults have the highest rate of infection nationally.

Last spring, some schools in Nebraska and Iowa notified parents of individual cases. Some closed altogether because of H1N1.

Federal guidance released this summer says the benefits of closing a school if flu cases develop often are outweighed by negative consequences, including students being left home alone and interruption of students' education.

Instead, schools are encouraging parents to keep sick kids home. Students who get sick at school will be separated from other students and possibly given a mask to wear until they can be taken home.

A vaccine is expected to be available by mid-October.

Schools and health departments will track absenteeism as they usually do, but they won't necessarily know if kids are out sick because of H1N1, the regular flu or another illness.

Doctors can do tests in their office to determine whether a person has influenza, but it won't show whether it's H1N1 or the regular flu.

The state public health lab in Omaha will do additional testing of some flu cases to determine whether they are H1N1 or the regular flu. That testing will give the county a sense of whether H1N1 is on the rise, said Pour.

When the first few cases of H1N1 arose this school year at some districts, parents were notified.

Parents at Patriot Elementary in the Papillion-LaVista district received a call Friday about a case at the school. But now the district plans to notify parents only if there's a spike in absenteeism.

The Omaha district is leaving it up to principals to decide whether to notify parents of individual H1N1 cases.
Pour said it will be more important to give parents updates on trends within a district or school.

For example, parents of a child with severe asthma could consider keeping that child out of classes for a few days if there is a rise in cases at school, said Dr. Kari Simonsen, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Children with asthma can be more prone to complications from the flu.

Parents also could step up hand-washing for the child and family if there has been a rise in cases in school.

Providing updates on flu trends as needed makes sense, said Ron Diimig, an administrator with the Council Bluffs school district. If absenteeism reaches 10 percent or higher at a particular school, the district would let parents know so they could look for symptoms in their child.

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