At least 2 students home with the flu

A McDowell High School football player has been sent home with the flu this week. The student has been told to stay home until his symptoms have cleared up.

This was confirmed Thursday by Associate Superintendent Mike Murray.

Tests, Murray said, "have confirmed he definitely has the flu," although it is unknown what strain of flu it might be. The athlete and a sibling, an elementary school student, must stay home.

"That's all I know of," he added. "There might be others, I don't know that anyone knows at this point, but we definitely have those two confirmed."

What is the condition of the athlete's teammates? Murray said the school nurse (MHS has a full time nurse on site) visited the team as recently as Thursday afternoon practice and had not found any other symptoms.

Health officials were also unsure whether the students' illness was "seasonal" or H1N1 swine flu. Nurse supervisor Helen White with the Rutherford-McDowell-Polk Health Department said an identifying test is only performed if the patient had been hospitalized.

At that point, she explained, either The McDowell Hospital or Health Department would conduct a more specific test, which would then be sent to Raleigh for confirmation

She said the specific identification was not terribly important, though.

The effects are similar and the treatment is the same, she said – "rest, extra fluids, fever reducer and most importantly, stay home until the symptoms are resolved for at least 24 hours."

She said that as far as she knew, family doctors are not performing tests that will clearly distinguish between flu strains.

Murray said the classmates of both the confirmed flu patients would be watched carefully.

"We are not at a point where we're going to have a nurse taking every kid's temperature every day, because the situation right now doesn't warrant that. If it did," he said, "we would not hesitate," to step up monitoring or even closing a school.

"Your babies are going to be safe under my watch," he said.

He explained that he didn't want to see school time lost based on a rumor, but that the best way to combat rumor was to be "completely transparent." If and when there is a significant outbreak of flu, whatever the strain, health and safety was far more important that keeping school open.

"In that case," he said, "Dr. Trollinger would make that decision," to close schools.

"It would be criminal to keep the schools open," in the event of an outbreak, he stated. "No one wants to do that. That's why we have got to get school work done and avoid panic."

Preparations for the predicted outbreak have resulted in a lot of cooperation between county and city agencies and departments, according to McDowell EMS Director William Kehler. He said in a press release Thursday that he and other officials have even considered the possibility "that up to 50 percent of the workforce could be effected by the virus."

Director of Emergency Management Terry Young said local governments are prepared for that, to ensure continuity of services even if many employees are out sick.

EMS and Emergency Management, school officials, health department director Philip Melton, Hospital CEO Ed Hannon, and McDowell, Marion and Old Fort law enforcement, fire and government officials now meet weekly to coordinate plans, and have agreed to allow interdepartmental access to facilities.

The swine flu, which government and health officials have renamed "novel H1N1" has been declared a phase 6 pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The designation means it has been identified around the world and is easily contagious. It is spread person to person, in the same way as the seasonal flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The virus is projected through coughing or sneezing, infecting others directly or by landing on a surface or object which is then touched by others, who then touch their mouths, eyes or noses.

And the symptoms are also similar: fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body- or headache, chills and fatigue, as well as diarrhea and vomiting.

The disease has not been particularly deadly so far. Between April 15 and July 24, 2009, some 43,771 cases of the swine flu in America have been reported by the CDC. Only 302 deaths have been linked to those illnesses.