With just a few hours left in the school year, it seems that some students at Salmon Bay School may have the H1N1 flu virus, more commonly known as “swine flu.” David Tucker of Seattle Public Schools confirms that the principal sent an email alerting people to the news. Erica sent us the following note:
Just a head’s up to all of you that indeed the H1 N1 flu has hit Salmon Bay. The Health Care Providers are not routinely testing for H1, N1 but have stated to some of our families that that is more than likely what it is. Regular precautions: hand washing, cover mouths, stay home and away from others for 7 days if ill especially with a fever. Some of our kids have ~101-102 degree fevers. More info can be found at www.kingcounty.gov/health/swineflu Nurse Julie
Erica says, “Lots of kids were out sick this week, that’s for sure. what a bummer to miss the last days of school!”
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Bigger bummer to miss the first days of summer vacation!
I haven't seen anyone answer this question yet:
If H1N1 does, indeed, come back next season in a more virulent form, wouldn't getting this year's relatively mild version convey some amount of immunity against the nastier version still to come?
Mightn't getting it this time around turn out to be a lucky break?
um, why not keep your children home if they are sick?
People should be keeping kids home when they are sick…this isn't the average flu. It's a pandemic of a new type of influenza and spreading widely. It's very serious. And it is causing the most severe illness in school age kids.
Although getting H1N1 now may give you some measure of immunity, it is far from certain. Influenza viruses change constantly and there is likely to be some measure of “drift” in the virus –meaning H1N1 in the fall may be just enough different for you to get it again, or your immune system for a lot of reasons could mean you get it.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthServices/health…
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health…
Yes, in that it will most likely prevent or reduce severity of catching it (or similar) in the fall.
No, if you get complications or a serious case of this version.
We still don't have lots of info on this one's virulence.
However, assuming the government got its act together and ordered enough doses for the population, this would be an excellent fall to get the flu vaccine, even if you haven't in past years.
You're right west_ed, this isn't the average flu – it's FAR less serious.
I'm not an epidemiologist, but I've read that it's theorized that the reason the Spanish Flu was more apt to kill relatively young people, like the ones in marijuana rehab was that older people were more apt to have been exposed to variants of the virus in their longer lives and were therefore more likely to have acquired a certain level of immunity.