Outbreaks 'spike' at city schools
Elementary grades hardest hit as students stay home with flu symptoms
October 27, 2009
Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/660980
Nearly one-third of local public schools are battling respiratory outbreaks as the second wave of H1N1 influenza sweeps Hamilton.
Public health officials have identified outbreaks in 32 of 114 schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, with all but one at elementary schools.
Twenty-eight of the outbreaks have been declared since the beginning of last week, as schools reported a surge in the number of students absent with flu-like symptoms.
"The outbreaks are across the city; there is no specific geographical area where it's happening," said Jackie Penman, spokesperson for the public school board.
"We only had one or two schools prior to last week and then it definitely spiked."
Outbreaks were also declared at six of the 57 schools in Hamilton's Catholic school board yesterday, down from nine schools on Friday.
Those numbers are expected to change as absences grow among secondary students, said Jackie Bajus, superintendent of education for the board.
"It's definitely starting to hit the older kids," she said.
Meanwhile, emergency rooms were "inundated" with people experiencing flu symptoms over the weekend, said Bill Krizmanich, chief of emergency medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences. The flood of patients is straining emergency departments and driving wait times higher.
People experiencing mild symptoms should call their family doctors and only use emergency rooms if they are severely ill, he said.
"We still have to maintain our responsibility to treat all those patients who don't have flu."
Hamilton's public health department is notified when more than 5 per cent of students in a school stay home with flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills and fever.
Public health then monitors the school for several days, looking for signs of ongoing transmission, before declaring an outbreak.
The public health department isn't testing for the H1N1 virus in every school, but there's "a good chance" it's behind most of the respiratory outbreaks, said Dr. Chris Mackie, Hamilton's associate medical officer of health.
"I'll put it this way -- we haven't identified any outbreaks that aren't pandemic H1N1," he said.
One school in the public board reported 30 per cent of its students absent, though some may have been kept home for other reasons or as a preventive measure, said John Forbeck, superintendent of staff and community engagement. He declined to identify the school.
In Halton as of yesterday, 23 of the region's 140 Catholic and public schools had at least 5 per cent of students away following a dramatic increase last week, said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's medical officer of health. Nine schools reported 10 per cent or more of their students absent with flu-like symptoms, he added.
The first wave of H1N1 arrived in Halton in the spring, hitting Oakville schools first before spreading to Burlington. This time, the virus is scattered throughout the region, Nosal said, causing the most illness in Burlington schools.
In Hamilton, letters are sent home advising parents that a school has more than 5 per cent absenteeism and reminding them of needed precautions. Halton isn't declaring outbreaks so no letters are sent home.
The Hamilton and Halton school boards have arranged additional daily cleaning in schools with specific instructions to disinfect surfaces. The public board also called a special meeting of principals yesterday to review flu protocols.
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