ID - CULDESAC, Idaho. - The Culdesac School District has canceled school for the remainder of the week following a 50 percent absentee rate among elementary-age students. http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=11308118
DE - SPRINGFIELD — About 30 percent of the students at Delaware Elementary School have flu-like symptoms and were absent on Tuesday. To try to keep the flu from spreading further, the district decided to close the school the rest of the week. http://www.ky3.com/news/local/64125727.html
WI - The Ashwaubenon school district said Tuesday it’s dealing with a flu outbreak but it won’t close its high school. The district says nearly 30 percent of the high school student body was out ill Monday, a majority of them describing symptoms of H1N1 flu. http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=11308610
MO - At Delaware Elementary, 30% of the student population has been absent the past three days due to flu-like symptoms. That, coupled with the high number of medically fragile students at Delaware Elementary, prompted Springfield Public School officials to dismiss classes at the school until Monday. http://www.ksmu.org/content/view/5365/66/
IN - In LaPorte County, one school system reported roughly 30 percent of middle school students out sick – and their absences are being attributed to swine flu. And in St. Joseph County, two schools have reported to the Health Department absence rates over 20 percent. http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/64159102.html
TX - “We have a high number out with cases of influenza virus and a few of the H1N1 virus and it has hit us hard,” Oakwood ISD Superintendent Richard Scoggin said. “Monday, we had about 18 percent out, today (Tuesday) it got worse — we had one-fourth of our students out.” http://www.palestineherald.com/local/local_story_286184858.html
TN - Director Pete Swafford says Sequatchie County Schools will be closed for the remainder of the week (Oct. 14 to Oct. 16) due to high absenteeism related to illness. http://www.newschannel9.com/news/illness-985538-schools-oct.html
VA - VIRGINIA BEACH After 80 students stayed home sick on Tuesday, St. Matthew’s School Principal Barbara White decided it was best to close the parochial school for an extra day to give the students a chance to recuperate. http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/virginia-beach-school-close-while-students-recuperate
Did 2000 school strike stop spread of flu?
By Ofri Ilani
Israel’s relatively low rate of flu infection in 2000 may well be attributed to a teachers’ strike, a new study suggests.
The two-week strike for higher pay was held in January 2000. A study conducted by Dr. Anthony Heiman, chief of the community health department at the Maccabi health maintenance organization, found the strike has been instrumental in blocking a flu epidemic that year
The study, published in Epidemiology and Infection, was based on data collected from Maccabi doctors, which indicated closing schools forced a sharp decline in the number of flu-related visits to them in the two weeks of the strike.
The strike reduced flu not only among students, but also among their parents, teachers and the general public. “We wanted to check whether closing the schools during an epidemic lowers infection rates among adults as well,” Heiman said. “We’ve seen a very sharp drop in flu cases among children, but we’ve also seen a general decline among parents and even families with no children.”
“By closing a school you actually stop the virus transmittance process, affecting wider circles of the public. Sometimes strikes have positive effects,” he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1120621.html