Likely case of swine flu reported in Catholic school

Most public schools in St. Mary's have already seen suspected H1N1

Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

This is the first case labeled as probable, the middle of three levels of alerts about the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, to appear in a school in St. Mary's County.

To be considered confirmed a viral culture test must be checked by the Centers for Disease Control or another health department with proper testing equipment. Because of the likelihood now that a flu case is the H1N1 virus, the cost of the confirmation and the time involved, many cases are not being confirmed.

"We do have a diagnosed case, one [student]," said Linda Maloney, principal at Father Andrew White. "We have followed up."

A letter was sent home to parents last Thursday saying that there was a case of the H1N1 virus in a student. Maloney declined to give the grade level of the student, or whether the student is a boy or girl.

She said the school was taking all of the recommended precautions and had talked to students in an assembly about the importance of good hygiene.

There are two other probable cases in Catholic schools in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, according to Kathy Dempsey, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

The Washington archdiocese, which oversees the five elementary/middle Catholic schools in St. Mary's, has a plan in place for all of the schools it oversees in the region to help keep track of any potential outbreaks, Dempsey said.

"The schools are being very diligent" in prevention techniques, including good hygiene and using hand sanitizers, she said.

Potential cases are labeled as suspected, probable or confirmed based on what level of testing has occurred.

Letters do not need to be sent home from schools when there is a single suspected or probable case, Dempsey said. It should be treated as any other flu case and the student or staff member is expected to stay home from school until he or she is free of fever for 24 hours without the help of fever-reducing medication.

The archdiocese is awaiting guidance from state health officials to determine the threshold for a critical mass of absences within a school, which would signify an outbreak.

St. Mary's public schools have said if a school were to reach 10 percent absent or a class has 25 percent absent, extra precautions would kick in.

Some students at most of the public schools have exhibited symptoms consistent with the swine flu, but so far no cases have been confirmed, according to Patricia Wince, supervisor of health services for St. Mary's public schools.

"I see it as the flu, and you would want to treat it as any flu and not let it spread," said Pat Suit, principal at St. John's School in Hollywood.

She said schools have been told to report any confirmed cases to the archdiocese and local health department.

"We have had no reported cases, suspected or confirmed," said Susan Fatka, principal at Mother Catherine Spalding School in Helen. Students there have also been told to practice good hygiene.

Lila Hofmeister, principal of St. Michael's School in Ridge, said while there is a normal amount of different illnesses going through the school, so far there have been no confirmed cases of swine flu.

"We've had lots of people checked," she said. The school updated its supply list last spring to include more hygiene items such as hand sanitizer.

"We encourage hand washing," Hofmeister said.

jyeatman@somdnews.com