“We’re defining a cluster outbreak as three or more confirmed positive cases of H1N1. We didn’t recommend closing the school because as CDC advises, at this point in the pandemic, closure of schools does not prevent the spread of disease,” said Annemarie Beardsworth, public information officer with the Rhode Island Department of Health.

The only time a school would be closed is if the absenteeism rate for both students and staff interferes with the school from functioning.

“Hamilton Elementary School decided that their school did not need to close and HEALTH supports that decision,” Beardsworth said.

The first suspected case of Swine Flu in North Kingstown arose in May when a high school student exhibited symptoms of the virus after returning from a family trip to Mexico. State officials and school department administrators closed the school for days. The high school was reopened after the CDC determined the girl tested negative for the virus.

Beardsworth said travel history is no longer relevant in contracting Swine Flu.

Superintendent Dr. Philip Thornton sent out a letter via school list serve updating parents on the H1N1 efforts last week.

“The school department is following the recommendation of the department of health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to not automatically close schools if we have confirmed case(s) of the virus,” wrote Thornton.

Symptoms of the virus include fever plus a cough or sore throat. Children may have a runny nose or headache too. The illness usually lasts three to four days and have generally been mild. A small number of people in Rhode Island have been hospitalized because of the virus but those individuals had other health conditions.

The Health Department expects the flu will be around well into the fall.

“We monitor absenteeism daily and if there’s an unexplained increase in school absenteeism that would be a sign that there’s an illness in the school or community and we’ll make it appoint to notify everyone,” Thornton said.
 
For up to date information regarding the H1N1 virus visit the Rhode Island Department of Health website at www.health.ri.gov