Officials keep wary eye on swine flu

Lowcountry health and school leaders cautioned parents on Wednesday to be vigilant about protecting their children from swine flu as they prepare to return to school next week.

Nearly 500 cases of swine flu have been confirmed statewide since May, and officials expect that number to rise as school begins. The tri-county area has about 5 percent of the total: Charleston 22 confirmed cases; Berkeley, three; and Dorchester, two.

Local officials encouraged parents on Wednesday to keep their children home when they're sick and to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

"I don't think you have to be scared," said John Simkovich, regional public health director for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. "You have to be aware of it."

Reported cases of swine flu virus appeared in pockets last spring, but it's widespread now and cases are being reported daily, he said. The guidelines for responding to cases are evolving and will continue to change during the next several months, he said.

Children who have flu-like symptoms -- a fever greater than 100 degrees, sore throat and chills -- should stay home, and parents should make plans now for what they will do if their children become sick, Simkovich said. Children may return to school 24 hours after they no longer have a fever without using a fever-reducing medicine.

A vaccine for this strand of flu likely will not be available until late October or November, and children will be a primary target group for immunization. Information will be forthcoming this fall on vaccination opportunities, and Simkovich asked parents to stay informed. Decisions to close schools as a means of slowing the spread of swine flu would be made by health and school officials.

An average of 36,000 people in the United States die from flu-related complications each year, and more than 200,000 are hospitalized from flu-related causes. The swine flu virus spreads the same way that regular seasonal flu spreads: coughing or sneezing. The virus also can live for up to eight hours on inanimate objects.

Charleston County School Superintendent Nancy McGinley said schools plan to train staff members in recognizing flu-like symptoms, to designate separate rooms where students with flu-like symptoms can wait for their parents to pick them up and to increase students' awareness of the importance of good hygiene, such as washing their hands.

She highlighted preventive measures such as keeping children's hands clean, which means washing with soap and water for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice, and sneezing or coughing into tissues or sleeves rather than hands.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.