Outbreak: Flu hits area schools

Iowa Department of Public Health says H1N1 flu widespread

By MATT MILNER Courier staff writer

Flu cases in southeast Iowa have exploded in the past several days, part of a trend that has state health officials saying the flu is now widespread.

The Iowa Department of Public Health says the H1N1 flu is present in each of the state’s six health districts and at least 47 counties. That is enough to put the state into the widespread category, up from regional outbreaks in the previous report.

Karen Stinson isn’t surprised. She’s the superintendent for Van Buren Community School District, one of the hardest-hit districts in the area.

“Our school nurse just called us a few minutes ago,” she said Monday morning. “Our elementary school is at 13 percent [absent]; so is our high school. Our middle school is at 19 percent.”

It is impossible to say every absence is due to the H1N1 flu virus, though officials clearly believe the bulk are. Part of the complication for districts, as several superintendents pointed out, is that the symptoms for H1N1 are very similar to those of seasonal flu.

For now, districts are saying absentee rates are from a flu outbreak and are well above the norm for this time of year.

Stinson’s district was working Monday on a letter for parents. Stinson emphasized the district is trying to follow the advice from public health experts, which is different from when the virus first appeared last spring. Outbreaks then led to school closings, something districts are not being told to do now.

Oskaloosa parents will be getting a letter as well. Superintendent Carolyn McGaughey said the middle school had enough absences on Monday to require a report to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The department receives reports from districts that have schools with absentee rates at 10 percent or higher.

“We’re beginning to see a few cases,” McGaughey said. She was not surprised the middle school was the first to trigger a mandatory report; it has a lower student population than the district’s other schools.

The biggest piece of advice being pushed by Oskaloosa is immunization. McGaughey said the district hopes people get a flu shot, even if supplies for the H1N1 virus run short. Experts believe the seasonal flu vaccine will provide at least some benefit against the new virus.

Ottumwa Superintendent Jon Sheldahl said Monday marked the first major outbreak of the flu for his students. He did not have absentee rates for Evans Middle School or the high school by Monday afternoon, but the elementary figures told the story. Absentee rates were between 8 percent and 23 percent.

The highest rate was at Pickwick Elementary School. It is also the district’s smallest elementary school, which means absences have an outsized effect on the percentages.

“Generally speaking it looks like we’re running at 10 percent absent,” Sheldahl said. “There’s a spike. We’re probably experiencing our highest rate thus far.”

Ottumwa schools are being asked to suspend attendance rewards for students that show flu symptoms. Sheldahl said raising attendance is a major goal for the district, but he doesn’t want attendance programs to make parents and students to feel they cannot stay home if they are sick.

The district’s overall attendance policy remains the same. But the district is trying to adjust to an extraordinary situation.

“It’s OK to stay home if you’re not feeling good,” Sheldahl emphasized.

Pekin Superintendent John Dotson is seeing a large-scale outbreak in his district as well. School staff members are cleaning classrooms and disinfecting them on a daily basis as part of the effort to contain the virus.

Dotson said there is a shift in the pattern from late last week to Monday. The outbreak started with students in elementary school. Elementary absences dropped Monday, but were up for the middle school and high school. The overall number of absences showed little change. About 7.5 percent of the students district-wide have been absent daily since the outbreak began.

“We’ve been averaging about 100 kids per day,” Dotson said.

Students in Pekin usually spend at least two days out of class with the illness, with a handful spending four days or more out of the classroom.

Is any district well? Harmony School District has been relatively lucky. Superintendent Kim Johnson said a handful of students have come down sick, but the flu does not seem to have become a major issue yet.

That doesn’t mean she is unconcerned.

“Next week it could all change,” Johnson said.

Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com

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