Flu joined by strep, allergies, other illnesses

While two Fayette schools — Huddleston elementary and Burch elementary — had an absentee rate pushing into 10 percent Friday, not all sick students are absent with the flu, school officials reported.

Some were out for strep throat, allergies or other illnesses. But it’s the flu that remains high on school system radar as parents are continuing to send sick children to class each day.

That in turn makes it far more likely the virus will spread to others, officials have said.

School officials are urging parents to keep sick children at home, particularly if they have fever or any other flu-like symptoms. Students who have fevers should not return to school until they have gone 24 hours without a fever and without fever-reducing drugs, school officials said.

Fayette County Public Health is tracking flu reports in the schools and the community while also preparing for the eventual arrival of an H1N1 vaccine perhaps in October. As of Thursday, district public health officials plan to have the vaccine administered by local health providers.

Meanwhile, officials are continuing to urge good hygiene including frequent hand-washing and staying home sick when suffering from flu-like symptoms.

To prevent the virus spreading in schools, staff has been using disinfectants on surfaces and also cleaning buses in-between the morning and afternoon routes.

Those who contract the H1N1 virus can expect typical flu symptoms such as fever, headache, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, sore throat and the like, officials said. Stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can also occur but are more common in children than adults.

The main concern about H1N1 is that it targets a far younger demographic than the regular seasonal flu, said Capt. Pete Nelms, Emergency Management Coordinator for Fayette County.

The school system has a reporting mechanism in place to keep local public health officials aware of the spread of the flu, which has been extremely helpful, Nelms said.

So far, H1N1 has been far less deadly than the regular seasonal flu, national health officials have said.

While a vaccine for H1N1 is being developed, it is not expected to be available until mid to late October, Nelms said. The vaccination will be available in two separate injections which are separated by a span of several weeks.

It is most likely the vaccine will be limited to those in the highest risk categories including young people up to age 24, pregnant women, those who care for infants, and those with other high risk medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, suppressed immune systems, heart disease, kidney disease, neurocognitive and neuromuscular disorders.