Springville-Griffith Superintendent Vicki Wright sent a letter home to parents, staff and community members on Thursday, Oct. 22 with updated information on students affected with swine flu.

Wright says there are a growing number of students reporting flu-like symptoms and two S-GI students have confirmed cases of H1N1. Parents have been asked to keep their children home if they are running a fever, have a sore throat or constant cough “until they have been fever-free for 24 hours without medication.”

Hillary Bowen, West Valley Central School superintendant, said that there are currently no WVCS students with confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu virus and she is encouraged that fewer than 10 students per day are missing classes due to illness. However, Bowen said, “If students or staff have flu-like symptoms, we do encourage them to stay home and we send any student with a fever home right away.”

The New York State Department of Health reports that since April 24, 31 New York state residents outside of New York City have died from the H1N1 virus and the level of flu activity in New York state is still increasing.

Bowen says that because treatments are the same for the swine flu as the regular flu strain, students with flu-like symptoms are being treated as if they had H1N1. Wright adds, “We do have some unconfirmed cases in-district. [Doctors] are being cautious and treating each case individually as a possible H1N1 flu.”

The only way to confirm that an individual has the illness is by a lab test; a physician inserts a thin, flexible wire into the nostril down the back of the throat. But Wright says that many doctors in the area are not swabbing. According to the Department of Health, turnaround time for final results are three to five business days.

Springville Pediatrics declined to comment on the recent reports of H1N1 at S-GI or why some local doctors are not swabbing patients; staff at Springville-Griffith was unavailable for comment.

West Valley Central School keeps hand sanitizer throughout the building and encourages students to keep a social distance from each other as much as possible. Children are taught to sneeze into the crook of their elbow and the school has asked their cleaning staff to thoroughly clean every service every day. S-GI has taken the same precautions. Wright says, “We continue to report our absences to the Erie County Department of Health on a daily basis and are reporting the number [of children with flu-like symptoms] to the DOH as well.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of the H1N1 flu virus are fever in most cases, cough, severe sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue and occasional vomiting. The CDC says, “Most people with H1N1 have had a mild illness and have not needed medical care or antiviral drugs.” But children younger than five, people 65 or older, pregnant women and people with certain conditions like cancer, lung disease, diabetes and weakened immune systems are more likely to develop flu complications. The CDC advises that these people talk to a medical professional if they begin to experience symptoms. They also stress that the emergency room should be used only for people who are very sick, but “anyone who has difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain in the chest or abdomen, dizziness or fever with a rash should get medical attention right away.”

If you or someone in your family becomes sick with the flu, the best way to treat it is with plenty of rest and liquids. The DOH says, “Staying home when you are sick is the most important thing you can do to protect others,” and reminds parents to have children wash their hands often and avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth.