Swine Flu Closes Another Local School

---

Lady Eleanor Holles School will be closed until after the half-term break

On advice from the Health Protection Agency, The Lady Eleanor Holles School will be closed from Monday 18th to Friday 22nd May, re-opening after half-term on Monday 1st June.

Parents of any pupil who experiences flu like symptoms should telephone their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

The closure comes on the day that Hampton School reopened after one of their pupils was diagnosed with swine flu.

Two girls, who were performers at the Joint Choral Society of Lady Eleanor Holles School and Hampton School production on Saturday 9th May, have now also been diagnosed with the flu.

Both schools took advice from the Health Protection Agency which recommended preventative oral antiviral treatment (Oseltamivir (‘Tamiflu’)) be given as a precaution to all performers at this production.

Members of the audience are unlikely to have come into close contact with the symptomatic students and therefore have been reassured that they need take no further action.

Advice to parents

You may be receiving queries from parents who are worried about children who have had contact with one of the cases. The current advice given by the Health Protection Agency is as follows:

• The only people who need to refrain from their normal activities (such as going to school or work) are:
• those who have been confirmed as having swine flu;
• those who are being investigated as a possible* or probable** case of swine flu (also see second main bullet point below); or
• those who have been attending a school where a case is found to have been present and have symptoms of the illness (a possible case).
• Anyone who is being investigated as a possible case of swine flu (which means they meet the epidemiological criteria and have symptoms) will be given antiviral medicine and will be asked to stay at home and limit their contact with other people until the test results are available.
• Close contacts of probable or confirmed cases (family, friends or otherwise) will be started on antiviral medicine as a precautionary measure but can continue their normal lives so long as they do not have any clinical symptoms.
• Children and adults who have no symptoms but have had contact with probable or confirmed cases in social community settings do not need to be excluded from either school or the workplace. They should continue their normal daily routines.

* Possible case: patient meets the epidemiological criteria and has symptoms
** Probable case: patient meets the epidemiological criteria, has symptoms, and results of initial testing suggest swine flu

For further advice and guidance, including a Frequently Asked Questions sheet, please visit the Health Protection Agency’s website: www.hpa.org.uk or contact the Swine Flu Number: 0800 1513 513.

 

May 18, 2009