Announcement

**Pathfinder** · September 19, 2009, 01:30 PM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map]

200 out at West Canada schools after H1N1 flu outbreak

Observer-Dispatch
Posted Sep 18, 2009 @ 04:00 PM

NEWPORT ? The number of absences at West Canada Valley School District has increased to 200, Superintendent Ken Slentz said Friday afternoon.

An estimated 55 percent of those students have shown flulike symptoms and are suspected of having the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu. There has only been one confirmed case of the swine flu.

About 40 percent are students who are being held home out of parent precaution, Slentz said. The remaining five percent are believed to be sick with something other than the flu.

?Probably just the normal stuff we see during the year,? Slentz said.

The district held an informational meeting for the community Thursday night on the flu outbreak where about 70 people attended.

No other outbreaks of people with flulike symptoms have been reported in the Mohawk Valley.

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1699587935/200-out-at-West-Canada-schools-after-H1N1-flu-outbreak

**Commonground** · September 19, 2009, 01:34 PM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map] Update: 100 students

?Probably just the normal stuff we see during the year,? Slentz said.

**Commonground** · September 20, 2009, 08:17 AM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map] Update: 100 students

[So the school outbreak started on 9/9. A few kids sent home on the 9th. On 9/12, 8 kids had been sent home. Sept. 18th, approx. 100 kids had shown flu-like symptoms]

School nurses staff front lines against flu
Posted Sep 19, 2009 @ 09:15 PM

When classes started at West Canada Valley Elementary on Wednesday, Sept. 9, school nurse Millie Ritter had a young student come in complaining of not feeling well and showing a slight fever.

A few hours later, another student came in. Within three days,, Ritter had sent home eight students with fevers.

?At first I wasn?t sure what I was seeing, but had my suspicions,? she said. ?As I saw the numbers going up, I knew that we should prepare for it to get worse.?

And it did.

About 200 of the 785 students in the district stayed home from school this past Friday. School officials estimated that 55 percent of them had flu-like symptoms, and most of the others were kept home by concerned parents. Only one student has been confirmed to have the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu.

-snip-

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x576513470/School-nurses-staff-front-lines-against-flu

**Commonground** · September 20, 2009, 08:30 AM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map] Update: 100 students

[This article is from the 16th. So on the 15th, 38 had flu-like symptoms.]

Story Created: Sep 16, 2009 at 4:20 PM EDT
Story Updated: Sep 16, 2009 at 5:12 PM EDT

NEWPORT, NY (WKTV) - The West Canada Valley Central School District has one confirmed case of the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu.
   

  

 On Tuesday, out of 43 kids out sick in the elementary school, 38 had flu-like symptoms.

Since it's too early for the traditional flu season, officials with the state health department told school officials to assume they are all swine flu cases, and the school is taking precautions to guard against further spread.

"We continue with the precautions that we put in place; everything from additional cleaning, additional opportunities for hand washing," said Ken Slentz, Superintendent at West Canada Valley Central School. "We have an isolation area set up in the elementary, so if we do have a number of kids come down with symptoms during the day, we can put them in an area where they're isolated from the staff and other students."
The superintendent says if the number of absent students gets up around 20 percent, that's when they consider closing down.
The school sent a letter updating parents home with students Wednesday.

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/59503017.html

**Commonground** · September 20, 2009, 08:33 AM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map] Update: 100 students

Timeline:

9/9: 2
9/12: 8
9/15: 38
9/18: 100

**Commonground** · September 20, 2009, 03:41 PM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map] Update: 100 students

[I believe the 200 figure of absenteeism is for the whole district, not just the Elementary School. Note the date.]

Post #2:

The number of absences at West Canada Valley School District has increased to 200, Superintendent Ken Slentz said Friday afternoon.

An estimated 55 percent of those students have shown flulike symptoms and are suspected of having the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu. There has only been one confirmed case of the swine flu.

West Canada schools report possible H1N1 cases

Posted Sep 15, 2009 @ 08:57 PM
Last update Sep 16, 2009 @ 01:53 PM

NEWPORT ?
More than 10 percent of the 385 students who attend West Canada Valley Elementary School are suspected of having the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, Superintendent Kenneth Slentz said Tuesday night.

The students ? who either didn?t come to school or were sent home ? have the tell-tale symptoms of the H1N1 influenza virus: fever, chills and a headache, Slentz said.

While no tests have been confirmed yet, health officials say the school district should treat the outbreak as swine flu, Slentz said.

?If your child is sick, keep them home,? Slentz advised parents.

The news out of Newport came the same day health and education officials agreed that students in Oneida County would be able to receive H1N1 flu vaccines at school as soon as next month.

Schools already have begun to monitor their absence rates and are reporting that information to the Oneida County health department.

?If we see huge pockets of flu outbreaks, that may determine where we go first,? said Cathe Bullwinkle, county Health Department quality assurance coordinator. ?We won?t be able to go to all the schools in one day.?

The first batch of vaccines for the H1N1 virus won?t be ready until the middle of October, and parents will have to sign permission slips in order for their children to receive the vaccines, Bullwinkle said.

Many students absent

In West Canada Valley:

On Monday, there were 39 students absent from the elementary school and six students absent from West Canada Valley Junior-Senior High School, Slentz said.
On Tuesday, there were 43 students absent from the elementary school and 11 students absent from the high school, he said.

Newport resident Todd Pickerd has a son Chad who is a sophomore at the high school. While it?s disturbing that students at West Canada might have swine flu, Pickerd said he's not worried.

?The government has kind of informed everyone that this is going to be out there,? he said.
Still, the number of students who have been absent from the district is bothersome, Slentz said.

?I?m concerned on a daily basis,? he said.

The absent students in the high school stayed home to take care of their younger siblings. The district is not aware of any cases spreading to the high school yet, Slentz said.

?We are prepared?

Health officials said closing schools is not a good way to combat the H1N1 virus, so both West Canada schools will remain open, Slentz said. The only way the schools would close is if the district was unable to maintain adequate staffing levels, he said.

No staff members have shown symptoms yet, Slentz said.

A letter was sent to parents of elementary students Monday. Another letter will be sent today to all parents, he said.

?We are prepared with whatever walks through the door,? Slentz said.

To combat the problem, extra cleaning precautions are being taken such as washing hard surfaces and cleaning the locks on lockers, he said.

There also is a room that has been set up next to the nurse's office, so students who are sick can wait there for their parents without being too close to others in the nurse?s office.

One suspected swine flu test from the West Canada district is pending at an Albany lab and results are expected Friday, Slentz said.

District and health officials are recommending that any children who are experiencing flu-like symptoms should speak with the physicians about getting tested.

It also is recommended they stay at home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone ? without the use of medicine to reduce the fever. It usually will take at least a few days to recover from the flu.

Vaccination plan

What's occurring in West Canada Valley is likely a sign of things to come throughout the region, health officials say.

Rome resident Kathy Hillside, who has two school-aged children, said she supports the plan in Oneida County to vaccinate students.

?Schools are a breeding ground for germs and viruses,? Hillside said. ?Things spread so easily there with all of the kids. It makes me feel a little better knowing that my kids will have some level of protection.?

The plan for large-scale flu clinics for students was announced at a meeting Tuesday morning at Oneida-Herkimer BOCES among superintendents, district officials and county health officials.

Details of how the vaccine will be disseminated are still being worked out, but health officials said they are asking school districts for information such as the schools' locations, building sizes and number of students, so they can begin to work out the logistics of the vaccine clinics.

Vaccines only will be available for the H1N1 flu, officials said. Vaccines for the regularly occurring seasonal flu would have to come from the children's primary providers.

For now, only students will be vaccinated, but there also might be opportunities for teachers and school staff to be inoculated, officials said.

The vaccine is expected to be available as an injection and as a nasal mist. The health department will attempt to provide the nasal mist to the youngest students, Bullwinkle said.

In the West Canada Valley district, Slentz said Tuesday night he doesn?t know what to expect in terms of how many students could be absent today.

?There could be 20 kids,? he said. ?There could be 100 kids.? [well...it turned out to be 200 kids by Friday......]

http://www.uticaod.com/news/herkimer/x1101622710/40-plus-students-suspected-of-having-swine-flu-absent-from-West-Canada

**Commonground** · September 21, 2009, 05:39 PM

Re: West Canada Valley School - 41 elementary student possible [map] Update: 100 students

West Canada absentee number drops, confirmed H1N1 cases rise

Posted Sep 21, 2009 @ 04:22 PM

NEWPORT ?

The number of students absent from West Canada Valley School District has dropped for the first time since an outbreak of the H1N1 virus was first suspected in the school district last week.

But the number of confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, has climbed to between 10 and 15, officials said Monday.

?It doesn?t surprise us at all,? Superintendent Ken Slentz said. ?We?ve been telling parents if your child is demonstrating the symptoms, you can be pretty sure that they have it.?

About 165 of the district?s 785 students were absent from school Monday. That number is down from over 200 students who were absent Friday.

An estimated 90 percent of the students absent have shown flu-like symptoms associated with swine flu or could be sick with something else. The remaining 10 percent are being kept home because of parent precaution.

That number has dropped significantly since last week when 40 to 50 percent of the absences were attributed to parent precaution, Slentz said, adding he was happy that the healthy students have returned to school.

?We?ve eradicated some of the fears in parents,? Slentz said. ?We?re heading in the direction that we were hoping for. It will run its course.?

**Commonground** · September 24, 2009, 05:48 AM

Re: West Canada Valley School - Update: 10-15 Confirmed; 165 Absent

Students returning to West Canada school after H1N1 outbreak

Posted Sep 23, 2009 @ 04:10 PM
NEWPORT ?

The number of students absent at West Canada Valley school district because of the H1N1 virus is continuing to drop, Superintendent Ken Slentz said Wednesday.

Exact figures were not available Wednesday afternoon, but Slentz said it?s clear more students are back at school than on Tuesday. He estimated about 100 students were absent in the district and said very few are now being kept home out of parent concern.

Last week, one student was confirmed to have the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the swine flu. Many others were believed to have it when they came down with flulike symptoms.

In Oneida County, schools across the area have been reporting students with flulike symptoms, though none have been confirmed as having the H1N1 virus, according to the Oneida County Health Department. The health department has said it is cutting back on testing for the H1N1 flu because they already know it is in the area.

Cathe Bullwinckle said the schools are reporting one to two students with symptoms.
A call to the Herkimer County Health Department was not immediately returned.

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x593050324/Students-returning-to-West-Canada-school-after-H1N1-outbreak

Announcement

West Canada Valley School - Update: 10-15 Confirmed; 165 Absent

West Canada Valley School - Update: 10-15 Confirmed; 165 Absent

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