H1N1 largely absent so far in Danville-area schools

One case was confirmed Thursday in a Danville 6-year-old, but schools haven't had problems seen in other districts

Although Vermilion County health officials on Thursday confirmed that a Danville 6-year-old has tested positive for the H1N1 virus, school officials in Vermilion County said they haven't experienced a spike in absenteeism of students or teachers due to the flu.

"We've had a typical number of seasonal flu cases for this time of year," said Steve Runyon, the Danville school district's special education director. "We have had one situation that was confirmed through the hospital. ... But most of what we're hearing is seasonal flu and influenza A."

"We've been very fortunate," added Cheryl Reifsteck, the Vermilion County assistant regional superintendent of schools, whose office is monitoring absenteeism throughout the county. "And we have been working very diligently to have a common front ... and stay ahead of this issue."

A state laboratory confirmed that the 6-year-old had H1N1 influenza, Vermilion County Health Department Director Steve Laker said. He added the child was hospitalized, but has been released and returned home.

Health officials aren't surprised the county has a confirmed case now because it's been experiencing a level of flu activity for some time, Laker said. However, he added, there hasn't been any widespread outbreak of the H1N1 virus in the county to date.

In Iroquois County, Watseka High School started out the week with a slightly higher than normal absence rate, but by Wednesday, one-third of the students were home sick with the flu. With so many absences, the district decided to close the school Thursday and today.

"It really wasn't a hard decision," said Superintendent Steve Bianchetta of the Iroquois County school district. The high school has an enrollment of 330, and 112 of the students were absent Wednesday. "Once we got to that number, it made it difficult to continue to have school."

The Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department says the closing of Watseka High School has bumped the health department up in priority for receiving H1N1 vaccines when the state receives the next shipment. Iroquois County has had three confirmed cases of H1N1, and one elementary school in the area is being monitored for increased absenteeism.

Laker said his department continues to monitor the levels of the absenteeism in the schools with the help of officials from the Regional Office of Education and other schools. He said a spike could indicate increased H1N1 activity.

But so far, absenteeism has been normal, school officials said. For example, the Danville district's attendance rate has stayed in the mid- to high 90-percent range, Runyon said.

Like Reifsteck, Runyon and other school officials attribute that to a little bit of luck and a lot of preventive measures early on.

"The school district has worked very closely with the health department since last spring when this first surfaced," he said. "Very early on, we provided information on the district Web site, sent information home to parents, schools posted information in their building and teachers had discussions with students regarding how to avoid the flu. Our focus has been on good personal hygiene habits, which includes frequent handwashing, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze and, when handwashing is not possible, using a sanitizer solution. We continue to promote that in our schools and in our classrooms."

Hoopeston schools staff, with the help of health department and Hoopeston Community Memorial Hospital officials, also have been very proactive. Besides disseminating information to students and their parents, they said, teachers keep disinfectant spray in their classrooms and use it every day, while custodians routinely wipe down common surfaces such as doorknobs, drinking fountains and restrooms.

"We really appreciate their efforts. They have been trying to be as proactive as possible," said Linda Bolton, the health department's public information officer and health educator. "You can't stop a virus. All you can do is try to control how it's spread. We have to continue to be vigilant. It's going to get worse."

Laker urged parents to continue closely monitoring the health of their children, particularly those who may have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus.

"It is especially important for children who are most at risk to see their doctor quickly when they experience symptoms of influenza-like illness," he said.

Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, and some people may experience vomiting and diarrhea. He added people may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1, if they have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

News-Gazette staff writers Jodi Heckel and Debra Pressey contributed to this report.

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