Officials: Keeping ill students out of class curbing spread of flu

The flu hit Coachella Valley schools hard this month with one school reporting as many as a fourth of its students absent one day, officials said.

Peaks in absence typically last about a week before leveling off, which officials say is a sign that keeping students home is working to curb the spread of the flu virus, school officials say.

“It kind of runs its course,” said Elka Kelly- Parker, director of student support services and special education at Desert Sands Unified School District. “The students stay home and then there's no new cases of it.”

There is no way of knowing how many absences could be from the H1N1 flu virus. Sick students are not specifically tested for it, said Barbara Cole, the county's director of disease control.

Nearly all valley schools saw absences increase at some point in October.

Coachella Valley Unified was hit hardest in early October.

One elementary school peaked with nearly 25 percent of students absent one day. The district would not release the school's name.

The Riverside County Department of Public Health is monitoring any school that has more than a 10 percent increase in absence or more than five students in a single class out sick with flu-like symptoms.

“That's just an indicator of potential disease activity,” Cole said.

Every school in Coachella Valley Unified has shown a 10 percent increase in absences at some point in October, with elementary schools being hit the hardest, said Laura Fisher, district director of pupil services and special education.

“Most of them (schools) went up really high in early October, and no one has really reached that again,” she said.

Other districts saw as much as a 4 percent change in attendance during the week of Oct. 19.

James Carter Elementary was hardest hit that week in the Desert Sands district.

Average attendance dropped from a normal 97 percent to about 93 percent.

In Palm Springs Unified, Vista Del Monte Elementary School dropped from a normal 95 percent attendance to about 92 percent.

“At this point, based upon our absence monitoring, the impact on the classrooms has been minimal,” said Jane Mills, director of child welfare and attendance for Palm Springs Unified.

Last year, as information about the swine flu was first coming to light, any school with a confirmed case of swine flu was shut down.

About 700 schools nationwide were shuttered, including Della Lindley Elementary and Indio High School.

This year, schools with a high number of students out sick are not given any special instruction, Cole said. Instead, they are told to continue basic containment strategies such as hand washing and keeping sick children out of school.

About 600 schools nationwide have chosen to temporarily close.

Valley schools send home any student with a fever and cough and direct parents to keep the child home until he or she goes 24 hours without a fever.

Keeping kids home can be a burden on parents, but it's helping to limit the spread of the flu, Fisher said.

Leah Mayhugh said she kept her daughter home early in the school year, even though she tries for perfect attendance every year.

“I am scared, to be honest, especially due to the fact that so many fatalities are children,” said Mayhugh, whose daughter and niece both go to school in Cathedral City. “I just don't want to take any chances.”

A total of 95 children have died from the swine flu virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maria Ontiveros said she isn't very worried about the H1N1 virus, but she is keeping an eye on it and is teaching her two children basic hygiene tips.

“We're just teaching them to wash their hands all the time,” and teachers are also stressing healthy practices, she said.

Parents should be sure to keep sick children home, but healthy children should be fine to go to school, officials said.

Students spotted with flu-like symptoms are kept away from other students until they can be sent home.

“If everybody does their part, then school will be a safe place,” Kelly-Parker said.