UPDATE The state Department of Public Health (DPH) said today there have been two confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza in Westport. Both cases were described as mild and the individuals are recovering at home.
The state report, released by the Westport Weston Health District, followed by several hours an e-mail message sent to parents by Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon. He informed them there had been a confirmed case of H1N1 influenza in the school system and that it was mild and the student has recovered.
While Landon said he would not identify the school involved, a Health District spokesman said the school was Staples High School. He said the other Westport case involved a student who went to school out of state.
“The individuals are residents of Westport who experienced mild symptoms, were not hospitalized, and are recovering at home,” the Health District said in a statement.
“While the Westport Weston Health District and DPH continue to monitor the influenza outbreak, it appears that this strain of influenza continues to cause relatively mild illness.”
The two Westport cases were among 21 confirmed new cases in the state, the DPH said. In addition to Westport, towns with new cases included Easton, Wilton, and Darien.
In his e-mail message, Landon said the School District had been informed about the H1NI case in its schools by the patient’s family.
“Thanks to a parent’s thoughtfulness and willingness to share, we have learned that a student in Westport Public Schools has had a confirmed case of H1N1 influenza,” Landon said in an e-mail.
“The case was mild and the student has recovered. Given the increasing number of confirmed cases in surrounding communities, we have to assume that we have already had at least a few cases in Westport, if not more.”
Landon said he would not identify the school affected.
“Because a student is a member of a family and other family members are also active in the community, it is not useful to identify one school,” he said.
“Rather, every school should be on alert that the H1N1 flu is here. We ask all parents to be vigilant, and to follow the…guidelines, most importantly to keep their children home from school if there is any question of flu-like symptoms.
“We also ask our staff to follow these recommendations.”
It was the first reported case of H1NI influenza (also known as swine flu) in Westport, although there have been confirmed cases in surrounding communities.
“Our district’s plan for handling a confirmed case is based recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” Landon said.
“The recommendations can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/K12_dismissal.htm and include the following:
“Students, faculty or staff with influenza-like illness (fever with a cough or sore throat) should stay home and not attend school or child care programs, or go into the community except to seek medical care for at least seven days even if symptoms resolve sooner.
“Students, faculty and staff who are still sick seven days after they become ill should continue to stay home from school and child care programs until at least 24 hours after symptoms have resolved.
“Students, faculty and staff who appear to have an influenza-like illness at arrival or become ill during the day should be isolated promptly in a room separate from other students and sent home.
“Parents and guardians should monitor their school-aged children, and faculty and staff should self-monitor every morning for symptoms of influenza-like illness.”
Landon told parents: “We will continue to monitor for flu-like illness in the schools, keep you informed, and consult with our School Medical Advisor, Dr. Norman Weinberger, and our local Director of Health, Mark Cooper.”
When did the school district learn of this?, today.
Or did they wait until the child recovered before sending notification.
Mr. Raho: Surely you are not suggesting that the school district withheld this information………….. I am not always in agreement with the school administration, but to infer that they would wait to share information is incredulous. I believe that the health and welfare of our students is at the top of the administration’s list. Let’s just wish the child well and watch other children and adults to prevent further spread.
Ms. Troy,
I’m only inquiring since it states above, “School District had been told that there had been a confirmed case of H1N1 influenza”, but it doesn’t say when they were told.
Unfortunately with today’s “media”, lets just say I’m a little more skeptical. Especially since were are continually told it’s just the flu and 36,000 people die from it every year in the U.S.
However, they aren’t grounding and diverting airliners because of the everyday flu, nor quarantining people and having the WHO raise the alert level to a 5. So regardless of what they may tell me, I judge by the actions and serve precautions they are taking.
Bottom line, I don’t wait for someone to take care of me or my family, I do it myself, even if I may step on a few toes in the process to get the full story or answers to my questions.