SPECIAL COVERAGE
San Diego County health officials are asking schools around the county to follow new guidelines for reporting absences and flu outbreaks in an effort to monitor the swine flu pandemic more closely.
Schools in San Diego’s 25 districts are asked to notify public health officials if their school is experiencing a 10 percent or greater absenteeism rate, or if 20 percent of students in a classroom or group at their school (a minimum of 5 students), are experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to Dr. Wilma Wooten, public health officer for the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. (Story continues below)
If an outbreak is identified at a school site, the county is asking the school to notify parents, and to re-emphasize prevention messages, including keeping their children home if they have flu-like symptoms.
“Influenza is still circulating within our community, and it is likely that every school site has experienced, or will experience, individuals with influenza-like illness,” says Wooten.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that all circulating flu viruses right now are swine flu.
