Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Ontario rules out closing schools to restrain swine flu
September 14, 2009
By Jeff Outhit, Record staff
WATERLOO REGION ? Ontario plans to keep schools open until well into an outbreak of H1N1 flu, should one occur.
This is despite new World Health Organization research that suggests closing schools very early in a swine flu outbreak can achieve great public health benefits.
The global agency says the best time to close schools is before one per cent of the population falls ill. If done properly, this can help slow the spread of disease, reducing the ultimate demand on health care by up to 50 per cent while buying time to build up vaccines and complete other preparations.
?Modelling studies suggest that school closure has its greatest benefits when schools are closed very early in an outbreak,? the World Health Organization stated in a Sept. 11 release.
?However, if schools close too late in the course of a community-wide outbreak, the resulting reduction in transmission is likely to be very limited.?
Ontario is aware of the research but has chosen not to pursue early school closures, Dr. Arlene King explained Monday while visiting the region on a public education campaign.
King, Ontario?s chief medical officer of health, said the province?s plan is to consider closing a school only if too many staff are off sick to run the school safely.
Authorities would consider closures on a school-by-school basis. There are no plans to tell parents about absentee rates among staff or students, at specific schools.
King contends the risk of closing schools early in a flu outbreak is greater than the risk of keeping them open. The concerns she raised are acknowledged by the World Health Organization:
? There?s no good way to keep children from gathering in other settings when schools are closed, and spreading the flu that way.
? Some parents who work in health care would likely have to stay home with their children, putting more pressure on the health-care system.
? Schools are a good place for children to learn how to protect themselves by washing their hands often, coughing into their sleeve, and staying home when sick.
? Closing schools strips children of other public health benefits, such as meal programs.
King stressed that the H1N1 virus has not had a significant impact to date on the province or its health system. ?So far, this has been a very mild disease,? she said.
Locally, nobody has died of swine flu. Only nine victims spent time in hospital. There have only been 38 confirmed cases locally and nobody is in hospital currently.
Provincewide, the mortality rate for swine flu has been 18 times lower than the mortality rate for regular seasonal flu.
However, the global pandemic that emerged this year out of Mexico is expected to dominate the flu season that starts next month. Most Ontario cases of H1N1 have been youths aged five to 19, raising concerns about its impact on schools.
A special vaccine against H1N1 is expected by November. It will be made available first to residents who are considered most at risk, possibly including pregnant women and people with pre-existing medical conditions. Vaccinations for the general public would follow.
People are also expected to inoculate themselves against regular seasonal flu.
Authorities no longer plan to test for the H1N1 virus among the general public, saying this is pointless now that the virus has spread into the community. Only people sick enough to end up in hospital, and some others, will get laboratory confirmations.
http://news.therecord.com/article/596867
September 14, 2009
By Jeff Outhit, Record staff
WATERLOO REGION ? Ontario plans to keep schools open until well into an outbreak of H1N1 flu, should one occur.
This is despite new World Health Organization research that suggests closing schools very early in a swine flu outbreak can achieve great public health benefits.
The global agency says the best time to close schools is before one per cent of the population falls ill. If done properly, this can help slow the spread of disease, reducing the ultimate demand on health care by up to 50 per cent while buying time to build up vaccines and complete other preparations.
?Modelling studies suggest that school closure has its greatest benefits when schools are closed very early in an outbreak,? the World Health Organization stated in a Sept. 11 release.
?However, if schools close too late in the course of a community-wide outbreak, the resulting reduction in transmission is likely to be very limited.?
Ontario is aware of the research but has chosen not to pursue early school closures, Dr. Arlene King explained Monday while visiting the region on a public education campaign.
King, Ontario?s chief medical officer of health, said the province?s plan is to consider closing a school only if too many staff are off sick to run the school safely.
Authorities would consider closures on a school-by-school basis. There are no plans to tell parents about absentee rates among staff or students, at specific schools.
King contends the risk of closing schools early in a flu outbreak is greater than the risk of keeping them open. The concerns she raised are acknowledged by the World Health Organization:
? There?s no good way to keep children from gathering in other settings when schools are closed, and spreading the flu that way.
? Some parents who work in health care would likely have to stay home with their children, putting more pressure on the health-care system.
? Schools are a good place for children to learn how to protect themselves by washing their hands often, coughing into their sleeve, and staying home when sick.
? Closing schools strips children of other public health benefits, such as meal programs.
King stressed that the H1N1 virus has not had a significant impact to date on the province or its health system. ?So far, this has been a very mild disease,? she said.
Locally, nobody has died of swine flu. Only nine victims spent time in hospital. There have only been 38 confirmed cases locally and nobody is in hospital currently.
Provincewide, the mortality rate for swine flu has been 18 times lower than the mortality rate for regular seasonal flu.
However, the global pandemic that emerged this year out of Mexico is expected to dominate the flu season that starts next month. Most Ontario cases of H1N1 have been youths aged five to 19, raising concerns about its impact on schools.
A special vaccine against H1N1 is expected by November. It will be made available first to residents who are considered most at risk, possibly including pregnant women and people with pre-existing medical conditions. Vaccinations for the general public would follow.
People are also expected to inoculate themselves against regular seasonal flu.
Authorities no longer plan to test for the H1N1 virus among the general public, saying this is pointless now that the virus has spread into the community. Only people sick enough to end up in hospital, and some others, will get laboratory confirmations.
http://news.therecord.com/article/596867