Officials tell schools not to close for swine flu

[FourScore]

Federal officials now recommend that schools stop closing when a case of swine flu is confirmed at a school, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday.

Scientists believe the H1N1 virus epidemic is no more dangerous than seasonal flu, and schools should act accordingly, Sebelius said.

"This virus does not seem to be as severe as we once thought it would be," she said at a news conference at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sick students should be kept home for seven days, she said, "but the schools should feel comfortable about opening."

Schools that have been closed can reopen, Sebelius said.

There were 702 probable and 403 confirmed cases in 44 states on Tuesday, said Dr. Richard Besser, the CDC's acting director.

In a pandemic, closing schools has a definite benefit, Besser said. But closing during a general flu outbreak is not required, he said...

SNIP

...But officials from WHO and the CDC plan to monitor developments in the Southern Hemisphere, where flu season arrives over the next few months as winter begins there.

Those results will help determine whether a stronger strain of the virus will return to the United States and the Northern Hemisphere during the fall flu season...



http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/05/swine.flu.main/