Flu keeps half of students home from school

By Mary Manning

Thursday, June 11, 2009 | 2:03 p.m.

The number of students absent from Marion Earl Elementary School grew Thursday, leaving more than half the total classroom seats empty.

A total of 322 students stayed home after Southern Nevada Health District officials announced four confirmed cases Wednesday of the H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu. The school has 614 students enrolled.

When flu-like symptoms were first reported Monday at the school at 6650 W. Reno Ave., near Jones Boulevard and Tropicana and Hacienda avenues, 105 students were absent. Those absences grew to 151 on Tuesday and 195 on Wednesday, said David Sheehan, a spokesman for the Clark County School District.

No new confirmed cases have been reported at the school, health officials said. The Southern Nevada Health District tested six students with flu-like symptoms. Four had the novel flu, two didn't have influenza viruses, officials said.

The school is still open. "There is no plan to close the school," Sheehan said.

The higher number of absent students might be attributed to "a precautionary" action by parents, who kept their children home from school to avoid infection, Sheehan said. Cleaning crews are sanitizing all surfaces every night, he said.

The World Health Organization declared the H1N1 flu at pandemic levels Thuseday, but said the worldwide cases generally are "moderate" at this time. The flu strikes younger people, usually under the age of 25, particularly hard, as well as pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions, health officials said. Those older than 60 have not been affected as much, which is unusual with such a virus.

The H1N1 flu symptoms are typical of other influenza strains, including coughing, sneezing, fever, aches and in some cases, diarrhea and vomiting.

Precautions people can take include frequent hand washing, covering the nose and mouth for sneezing and coughing and staying home if symptoms of illness occurs.

"It's very, very important that people keep their kids home if they are sick," said Sheehan. "That's just common sense."