H1N1 Heads Back to School

Schools are ideal breeding grounds for the communicable virus known as "swine flu." Not only are children more susceptible than adults to the flu, but the crowded, sometimes unsanitary conditions gives the virus a perfect chance to multiply and spread.

Before school began, officials took extra precautions such as scrubbing all surfaces with bleach and "telling people if their kids are sick, don’t bring them to school,” Fruitland, Idaho superintendent Alan Felgenhauer said.

Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan instructed schools to prepare both hard-copy and online lessons to disseminate if swine flu sickens large numbers of students.

Nationally, 24 elementary, middle or high schools closed because of swine flu outbreaks in the first week of school, letting 25,000 students out of class.

Universities create "Swine U"s

	Mexico City's economy suffered in the Spring, as residents avoided public places like this nearly empty stadium during a Mexico League Football game.

The problem is even worse at universities, where students live, work and play together. La Salle University in Pennsylvania sent at least eleven students home with “probable mild cases” of swine flu in the first week of school.

Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia is offering a specific dorm for student self-isolation on campus since not all students can return home. And Washington University offers a hotline students can call for food service if they are shut in by illness.

When swine flu first broke out in the spring, districts in Mexico, the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, and elsewhere closed schools for several weeks. Other schools cancelled concerts, sports events and other mass gatherings, which seemed to slow the virus.

New vaccine offers relief in a single dose

	According to the CDC, schools may be used as temporary vaccination sites.

Swine flu spreads the same way seasonal flu does, from an infected person sneezing or coughing near other people or touching objects.

Recent studies done in ferrets prove that swine flu virus spread more quickly than seasonal flu and the new virus caused more severe illness.

With the first round of H1N1 vaccine clinical tests in humans completed, results show good news: only one shot may be enough to protect against swine flu, making it easier for more people to receive the vaccination.

School-age children and adults over the age of 65 are the most susceptible to the H1N1 virus and are the priority groups for the vaccine.  People with asthma and other breathing conditions are most at risk for complications from the flu and are urged to get the vaccine.

Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, predicted the vaccine will be administered by mid-October. "We anticipate using schools as partners to make sure that we reach out to kids who are a priority population to get the vaccination," she said.

For more information on the H1N1 virus, visit the NewsHour's Global Health page of the Center for Disease Control Web site.