Swine flu prep ramps up in Flathead

The swine flu has avoided Montana, but Flathead County officials are preparing in case the virus arrives in the state.

Those preparations have spread to local schools. Nationwide, 433 schools have closed to prevent the H1N1 influenza virus from spreading, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The closures affect 245,000 children in 17 states.

The Flathead City-County Board of Health has called an emergency meeting Monday to clarify the board's authority to close schools - and possibly take other actions - if necessary, public health officer Joe Russell said.

"We're laying the groundwork if anything does come to Flathead County," he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend closing schools if one student or staff member there gets swine flu, Russell said. School closures aren't always popular, he added, but the board will take the necessary steps to prevent the virus from spreading.

"Frankly, this is really not a debatable issue," he said.

The meeting, which is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. Monday in the Earl Bennett Building's second-floor conference room, is intended as a prevention measure, Russell said. As of Friday afternoon, there were no confirmed cases - or even any suspected or probable cases - of the virus in Montana.

"We're in good shape right now," he said, pausing a moment before cautioning, "But it's not that far away."

One person in Spokane is suspected of having swine flu, Russell said.

A Flathead County child who recently returned from a trip to Mexico reportedly had flulike symptoms earlier this week. The child tested negative for swine flu, Columbia Falls school Superintendent Michael Nicosia said.

The child doesn't attend Columbia Fall schools, Nicosia said, but his mother is a district employee. She didn't have any flu symptoms.

The Columbia Falls School District has an 18-step procedure in place to prevent an infectious disease outbreak, Nicosia said. Beginning next week, the district will ramp up its efforts to keep the school as sanitary as possible.

Those efforts include adding three or four temporary, full-time employees to the custodial staff, Nicosia said. Those employees will help ensure common areas and surfaces, including doorknobs, telephones and restrooms, are sanitized at least a couple of times a day.

School buses likewise will be sanitized twice daily, before morning and afternoon routes, Nicosia said. Hand sanitizers will be available on buses and in classrooms.

"We just want to intensify what we're doing," Nicosia said.

The district sent home letters to parents to inform them of the precautionary measures the district will take and urging them to keep children at home if they exhibit symptoms of any flu, he said.

"They're encouraged, of course, to go to the doctor and to try to get diagnosed before they come back to school," Nicosia said. "They have to be free of symptoms for 24 hours before they're allowed back in class, and that approval comes from the school nurse."

The letter also instructs parents to be prepared for possible school closures, said Russell, who praised the Columbia Falls School District for its "progressive approach" to preventing an outbreak.

Other districts are preparing as well. Several, including Bigfork, have posted a letter from the health department on their Web sites.

If a Bigfork student or staff member got swine flu, the district would take instruction from state and county health departments, Superintendent Russell Kinzer said.

"It's pretty much out of our hands at that point," he said. "If they tell me to shut down, we shut down."

Should schools close, children should stay home - or at least avoid congregating in large groups, which would be counterproductive, Russell said.

"Just because you're out of school doesn't mean you just go hang out in large numbers," he said.

He emphasized taking preventive actions, including covering your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, washing your hands often with soap and water, avoiding touching your face and avoiding close contact with sick people.

Staying home if you have flu symptoms also is important, Russell said.

"That's one of the big things you can do," he said.

Swine flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some infected people also have reported vomiting and diarrhea.

The CDC recommends that people with these symptoms stay home from work or school for seven to 10 days after the illness begins and until the fever is gone.

Getting accurate information also is an important tool in preventing an outbreak. Russell said the department has fielded several "weird calls' from people who have been misinformed about the virus.

One caller had heard that antiviral drugs are tainted and should be avoided. Another had heard the only way the H1N1 virus could exist was if it had been engineered, an allegation Russell called "nonsensical."

"If you know anything about the science of the influenza virus, you know it shifts and drifts all the time," he said.

Information about the H1N1 virus is available on the health department's Web site, www.flatheadhealth.org.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com