Schools Prepare for Possible H1N1 Outbreak

UPDATE: Governor Rell announced Sunday that vaccinations against the H1N1 virus (swine flu) will be made available free to the public. The state could initially recieve up to 1.8 million doses from the federal government starting mid-fall. State health officials say a seasonal flu vaccine will also be distributed. Rell addressed school administrators and health professionals last month at a conference discussing preparations being made to safeguard students, faculty, and staff from the flu.

With the new school year approaching, and the incidence of swine flu continuing throughout the summer, New Canaan public school officials are building on plans they had in place last spring to deal with an H1N1 outbreak.

Plans include communicating with parents to make sure that students stay home when they're sick, promoting hand washing, sneezing and coughing etiquette, and encouraging coaches and teachers to make sure students don’t share water bottles or utensils, said David Abbey, superintendent of New Canaan Public Schools.

In addition, there will be more Purell dispensers installed in schools for routine hygiene.

There have been eight confirmed cases of swine flu in New Canaan and 648 in Fairfield county (127 of those were in Bridgeport), according to figures posted Aug. 12. The median age of patients in Connecticut is 14. Several schools across the state closed in response to local outbreaks during the previous academic year.

Abbey says there's no set number of cases that would trigger a school closing in New Canaan. The superintendent says the schools will aim to balance the number of students who are ill with the benefits and necessity of keeping schools open.

"We anticipate having students with H1N1, but we don't anticipate closing schools,” he said.

Abbey's comments are consistent with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease control which released new guidelines for school administrators and local public health officials on August 7.

The nursing staff and the town Health Department will be keeping a close watch on how sick students are and the number who are sick.

“One of things everyone is looking at is how virulent the flu is,” Abbey said. “Each year 36,000 nationally die from flu. At this point in time, it (H1N1) hasn't proven to be any more virulent than seasonal flu.”

The Department of Education will be coordinating with the Health Department in its preventive efforts and responses to any outbreaks that may occur.

Health Director Richard Werner says seasonal flu shots will be offered at the beginning of October and the H1N1 vaccinations will likely be available at the beginning of November.