U.S. Braces For Swine Flu Spread As Students Return To School

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – As summer ends, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are bracing for another round of swine flu infections as 55 million students and 7 million staff head back to 130,000 public and private schools across the country.

The current H1N1 outbreak remains a global pandemic, with over 162,000 confirmed cases currently being treated around the world. Now, students across the U.S. and in other countries are going back to school, months before a viable vaccine for children will hit the market, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the U.S., the CDC is working with schools to report outbreaks and quarantine children showing flu-like symptoms. In the event of a concentrated outbreak, the CDC will recommend school closures and targeted vaccinations. Meanwhile, the CDC is asking parents and staff to keep sick children at home, more so than normally.

The response comes after an active flu season this summer. “We are continuing to see transmission here in The United States in places like summer camps, some military academies and similar settings where people from different parts of the country come together,” director of the National Center For Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters.

“I think this is very unusual to have this much transmission of influenza during the season, and I think it’s a testament to how susceptible people are to this virus,” Schuchat explained. “We as a country or as a population have protection. So in these special circumstances, like camps or close quarters in the military academies, we’re seeing the virus spread.”

Related posts:

1. China Quarantines Hundreds Of School Children From UK, US Over Swine Flu
2. Microsoft’s free software program now extended to high school students
3. Amid Controversy, Obama Begins School Year With National Address To Students
4. Profoundly disabled students forced to fight by staff. If you guessed Texas, you win
5. Swine Flu Outbreak – What are the Symptoms?