H1N1 case suspected at Lapeer elementary school

LAPEER — While Lapeer Community Schools (LCS) sent a letter home to parents Tuesday announcing one confirmed case of H1N1 flu at one of its elementary schools, county health officials say there have been no confirmed cases of the illness so far in the county.

However, Stephanie Simmons, the Lapeer County Health Department’s director and health officer, noted, “Mostly what we’re getting out there is positive Influenza A, and since H1N1 is the only Influenza A going around, we’re assuming it’s out there.”

Still, said Simmons, it takes a $300 test to confirm a case of H1N1, and that’s generally limited to people who’ve been hospitalized. “Maybe I’m splitting hairs,” she said.

Simmons said an LCS official told her Tuesday that a Lapeer elementary student has been hospitalized at Hurley Medical Center in Flint with a suspected case of H1N1.

In the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) latest report on this year’s flu season, H1N1 was listed as widespread in every state except South Carolina and Hawaii. CDC officials reported that 22 children died of flu-related complications last week, and 19 of those were confirmed H1N1 cases nationwide.

That, said Simmons, is why her office is urging people to have their children immunized for both H1N1 and seasonal flu. “What we’re looking at here is an immunologically naive population,” she said.

Simmons said Lapeer County was allocated 1,000 doses of flu vaccine, up from 400 doses last week. Nationwide concerns have been growing as manufacturers have been producing the H1N1 vaccine at a much slower-than-expected rate.

So far, said Simmons, 4,700 people have been vaccinated in the county. “We’re still prioritizing,” she said, “with pregnant women and children going to the head of the line.”

She noted that The Chatfield School had the county’s highest absenteeism rate last week at 10 percent. That’s still well below the 20 to 25 percent absenteeism rate that would make closing schools sensible.

LCS spokesman Jim Smith said the district’s absenteeism rate this week is under 10 percent. “What we’re seeing isn’t that much different from a normal flu season,” he said.

Simmons said that while H1N1 and other flu strains remain a mild illness for the vast majority of people, for just under 1 percent of the population, it’s serious.

She said anyone with flulike symptoms and a fever between 102 and 103 should contact their physician. CDC statistics show that H1N1 has been the most severe among the young and people with underlying health conditions.

With H1N1 widespread in the state and at least one suspected case in hospital, Smith said school officials are “Trying to keep the rumors down to a dull roar.”

In their letter home to parents, Lapeer school officials urged, “our staff and students to frequently wash hands, use hand sanitizers and cough and sneeze in a way that minimizes the spread of the virus.”

School and health department officials also are urging parents with children displaying flu-like symptoms to keep them home until their fever has subsided for at least 24 hours.

Supt. Debbie Thompson in her letter to parents said parents reporting absences will be asked several questions including:

• Does the child have a fever? How high?

• Is the child sick to their stomach, in the bathroom a lot?

• Is the child congested, achy, feeling and acting droopy or sick?

• Has the child been around others with the same symptoms?

“The health department is calling the shots,” said Smith, “we just doing what they’re asking us to do.”