'Quarantine rooms' planned for swine flu pupils

Published on Tuesday 5 May 2009 22:35

FEARS were voiced yesterday that school exams across Scotland could be disrupted if the swine flu threat increases, as experts warned it was "premature" to assume the virus would remain mild.

Guidance issued to independent schools suggested they consider setting up "quarantine rooms" for pupils suspected of being infected. Others warned that the summer exams season could also face "substantial difficulty".

The concerns came after a new probable case of swine flu emerged in Scotland, in a young woman travelling back from New York.

The Scottish Government said further test results were awaited to confirm whether the 21-year-old from the Grampian area was infected.

Yesterday, the UK government's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, warned the authorities could not assume swine flu infections would remain mild, as they have been outside Mexico.

Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Harry Burns, also warned that the virus could "come back with a vengeance" after the initial flurry of cases stops.

The grim forecast came as leaflets giving information about swine flu and how to deal with it started to be delivered to households across the UK.

A further case was also confirmed in a man in Berkshire, bringing the UK total to 28.

Across the world, cases of swine flu continued to rise, with numbers in the United States now exceeding 400. Last night, Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a US resident from swine flu.

Officials said the victim, who died earlier this week, was a woman who lived in Cameron County, along the US-Mexico border, adding that she had other, chronic health problems.

Last week, a boy from Mexico City died at a Houston hospital, marking the first swine flu death in the US.

The Independent Schools Council in England issued advice to more than 1,200 schools on how to tackle a swine flu outbreak, including the creation of quarantine rooms for students who might have the virus.

Five schools in England have now closed due to links with swine flu cases. Some exams have already had to be rearranged for affected pupils.

A meeting of key education representatives, including the Scottish Council for Independent Schools, is to be held with government officials tomorrow to discuss emergency procedures in the event of the disease hitting Scotland's classrooms.

Evidence suggests that children secrete larger quantities of seasonal flu virus and for longer periods than adults. This means viruses can spread quickly through schools, which will prove more worrying if a pandemic strain is involved.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Qualifications Authority on Monday revealed that they had plans in place to handle the exam period if it was affected by swine flu.

Ken Cunningham, general-secretary of School Leaders Scotland, which represents headteachers and depute heads in the nation's secondary schools, said: "We've already issued advice to our schools in terms of their preparation. It would be a very silly school authority and government which was not ready to take action in a case like this. We have to believe there is a degree of reasonable risk."

Meanwhile, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the latest "probable" Scottish victim had returned from New York to Heathrow on 25 April and then travelled on to Aberdeen the following day. However, the woman's main symptoms did not emerge until 28 April.

Ms Sturgeon said the woman had reported having "very mild symptoms on the flight", but that health officials considered these to be "flight-related symptoms and not of any flu virus".

Officials are currently investigating 21 travel-related possible cases of the virus. A further two possible cases are also being tested among passengers on a Flybe flight from Birmingham to Glasgow, where a traveller was previously confirmed with the virus. These two cases are based in Lanarkshire.

South of the Border, Sir Liam confirmed that a second, larger wave of infections could be expected during the usual flu season in the autumn and winter.

He said officials were closely monitoring swine flu's progress in southern hemisphere countries including Australia and New Zealand currently experiencing their winter.

&#149 The World Health Organisation began to ship 2.4 million treatments of anti-flu drugs to 72 needy countries yesterday, and its flu chief said the swine flu epidemic was still spreading.

WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said last night that new infections were among the 405 confirmed swine-flu cases reported to WHO in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Mexico flew dozens of its citizens home from China yesterday, freeing them from a swine flu quarantine that has also ensnared travellers from the US and Canada, as Beijing takes strict measures to block the virus from entering the world's most populous nation.

Infected couple's GP: I feared I gave my son the virus

THE doctor who treated the couple infected with the UK's first cases of swine flu yesterday spoke of how little he knew about the potential risks he faced when went to their home.

Dr Sam Bandularatne, a GP in Burntisland, Fife, was on call for the Forth Valley area when he was called to see Dawn and Iain Askham in Polmont.

Knowing little about the virus, reports of which were then at an early stage, he went into their home without a face mask. But after it emerged that the couple had swine flu, the doctor became concerned about his young son.

Dr Bandularatne was yesterday among NHS staff who met health secretary Nicola Sturgeon as she visited Forth Valley's swine flu control room, where efforts to contain the virus have been centred.

The region has seen three of Scotland's four confirmed cases of the virus so far. As well as the Askhams, who recently returned from honeymoon in Mexico, their friend Graeme Pacitti was also infected after contact with the couple.

Dr Bandularatne received the call to see the Askhams at around 3pm on 25 April, as the swine flu outbreak in Mexico was starting to receive worldwide attention.

"It was very early on in this (situation] and not much was known about it," the GP said.

"I went on the web to look at it because we did not know much about this. I got a guideline from the Communicable Disease Centre in the US and I took the print-out with me to the patients."

Dr Bandularatne said he did not wear a mask when he entered the house because it was not yet known how serious the threat was.

But he added: "I was worried about it afterwards. I kept getting flashbacks because I have a son, a six-year-old boy. I was really worried for him. I had to stay at home for seven days and take Tamiflu. Everybody stayed at home."

Dr Bandularatne said he felt "terrible" as he waited to see if he or his family – his son, Nelith, and wife, Prasadi – would be infected too. The GP got the all-clear last Friday.

Staff nurse Emma Mclaren also spoke about how she had to take blood samples from contacts of the Askhams.

She said the nurses doing this work were all given Tamiflu to help protect them.

Ms Sturgeon was given a tour of the incident room in Stirling yesterday, examining samples of anti-viral drugs, masks and aprons on display.

Maps showing numbers of confirmed cases around the globe and advice from the World Health Organisation on the management of a potential pandemic covered the walls.

The incident room was set up in a matter of hours when the first suspected cases emerged.

Ian Mullen, the chairman of NHS Forth Valley, said staff had been "magnificent" in the way they have responded to the swine flu threat.

"We have practiced for the possibility of a pandemic for three or four years now," he said. "But what we have seen over the last ten days is all of that training and practising has been worthwhile."

Every UK household warned of dangers

A MASSIVE leaflet drop involving every household in the UK got under way yesterday in efforts to give people more information about swine flu.

The blanket delivery operation has come in response to a rising number of people with the virus in the UK and around the world, with almost 1,500 confirmed cases.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the UK government's chief medical officer, said the last public health information campaign on the same scale dealt with Aids in the 1980s.

Leaflets being distributed to homes around the country will "reinforce the basic hygiene principles that can play a very important part in halting the spread and reducing the risk to individuals", he said.

These involve covering the mouth when sneezing or coughing, disposing of tissues after sneezing and washing hands.

The leaflet also sets out what UK governments are doing to tackle any flu pandemic if it emerges. This includes stockpiling anti-viral drugs and preparing to create a vaccine.

It points out that basic face masks – as seen worn widely in Mexico – do not protect people against the virus. The leaflet also suggests people set up a network of "flu friends".

It states: "Flu friends are neighbours, friends and relatives who can help you if you get ill. For example, they could collect medicines and other supplies for you if you are ill."

&#149 The latest information on swine flu is available by calling the information line on 0800 1 513 513.