Kasaragod: A medical team headed by the District Medical Officer (DMO) is camping at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) at Periya in Kasaragod, after H1N1 was confirmed in five students - four girls and one boy - of the residential school. The school, which has nearly 520 students from across the district, has put those students in a separate place.
Currently 73 other students are also showing symptoms similar to that of H1N1, said DMO Dr Dinesh Kumar AP.
“This is the first outbreak in the district this year, though there were isolated cases in other parts nothing was at an extreme to be called as an outbreak. Yesterday (Sunday) also nearly eight suspected cases were recorded from the school. Two doctors and sufficient paramedical staff are camping in the school. The situation is under control, and the school has also decided not to send the children home, to avoid spreading it into other parts of the district,” the DMO told Onmanorama.
He added that the students, who had shown symptoms, are not in need of separate treatment and they are just prevented from mingling with the other students, and the situation can not be called 'quarantine'.
“For a minimum period of five days, they are prevented from attending regular classes with others and sharing the common dining hall or other facilities. Once the tests turn negative, they can join regular classes. Normally five to seven days are needed for confirming the presence of the virus,” the DMO said.
Nine cases of H1N1 was confirmed in the district this year alone, said the DMO.
The samples collected from the school were sent to Manipal Virology Lab. One of the students was earlier admitted to the Government District Hospital, Kanhangad, and another to a private hospital. The other three are at one of the isolation wards arranged at the school itself.
The residential school has students from even outside the state, as the JNV schools have a system of shifting students as part of the national integration goal. Sending the students back to their houses would only aggravate the issue, said the school authorities.
The students with confirmed infection belonged to Class 8 and Class 9 while those with suspected symptoms were from Class 6 and above, school principal K M Vijaya Krishnan revealed.
“Before confirming the disease, some students were allowed to go home, but they were brought back when the lab results arrived. Three of them are totally cured and the other two are also recovering fast. There is no panicky situation on the campus, and I can assure the parents that their children are totally safe here,” the principal said.
H1N1 or swine flu, which is caused by a virus, has been on the rise in all south Indian states last year, according to reports.
Pregnant women, children, elderly and those with respiratory issues, diseases such as diabetes, renal diseases, hypertension and cardiac issues, cancer or HIV should take special care as H1N1 has been known to cause high mortality among these groups.
Physicians advise that people with flu should stay home away from crowded public places and follow the cough/cold etiquette to prevent the transmission of the virus. Frequent hand-washing with soap, intake of fluids and other supportive measures will help.
