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http://www.tallahassee.com/article/2009 ... ool+sports

Swine flu sidelines high school sports in the Big Bend
Two games canceled; officials say outbreak isn't widespread

Two high-school athletic contests were canceled this week due to students' illness, but school and county health officials insist there hasn't been a widespread outbreak of swine flu.

Friday's Wakulla-North Florida Christian School football game was called off because more than half of Wakulla's football team was experiencing "flu-like symptoms," principal Mike Crouch said.
The Thursday volleyball match between Leon and Lincoln high schools also was canceled after a number of the Lincoln girls were suffering from a stomach bug, according to Lincoln principal Allen Burch.
The Leon County Health Department is no longer testing for the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, according to Medical Director Dr. Marjorie Kirsch.
"The (regular) flu has been in the community since April, and after school started the number of cases has increased. But that is expected," Kirsch said. "We are no longer counting cases because there are too many to count, and most school are experiencing flu-like symptoms with no actual numbers....

Lee schools working to vaccinate against swine flu

LEE COUNTY — Swine flu is among us.

It really never left, said Lee County Health Department Director Judith Hartner, but Lee County Schools are on alert for the signs and symptoms of sick kids.

The next step, discussed at a meeting of the district’s School Health Advisory Committee, will be the effort to get students vaccinated against seasonal flu, and possibly even the novel string of H1N1, known as swine flu. The committee comprises school nurses, health teachers, representatives from Florida Safe and Drug-Free Schools, food and nutrition department employees and representatives from the county health department.

Hartner said the county got a grant early this year — before swine flu reared its head — to conduct seasonal flu vaccination workshops in district schools. With a short supply of seasonal flu vaccinations available, but expected to flesh out later this month, Hartner said that effort will get under way either in late September or early October.

Vaccinations for children ages 6 months to 18 years will be free, and given at six schools in Lee County on Saturdays. Parents will also be able to get shots for prices similar to what they would be charged at a local drug store, Hartner said. Seasonal flu vaccines are available now at many family doctor’s offices and some drug stores for normal co-pays.

“This is sort of like ‘Be careful what you ask for,’” said Hartner. “Back in April, the spring, the federal government made available flu shots for elementary school-age children. This was just super dandy and we worked the family flu night out. We wrote the grant and we got the money. ... And then swine flu happened. We may be bumping smack dab against H1N1. If that happens, we may have to be giving both at one time.”

If the timing does not match up, though, swine flu vaccinations will be administered at Lee high schools at a later date, said Sharon Warnecke, director of Health Services for the district.

Hartner said projections have the department administering 4,000 vaccinations a night to all residents in the county. Enrollment in the Lee County School District is 79,000 students.

Sheila Sarver, coordinator for Health Occupations students in the district, said she is hoping to get student practical nurses from the county involved in administering the vaccines. They would serve as extra hands for the massive effort, as well as gain practical experience and earn community service hours, Sarver said.

Vaccines may be a few weeks away, but the department is seeing between 40 and 45 cases of flu a day.

Health professionals are not testing to determine if flu is the seasonal strain or swine flu, but Hartner said doctors are being directed to diagnose flu-like symptoms as flu, and to assume that flu appearing now — before the regular start of the flu season — is swine flu.

School closings are still not being considered as a way to curb the spread of swine flu. That method was scrapped after a handful of schools across the country closed when the first cases of swine flu were confirmed in the spring, including at Spring Creek Elementary School in Bonita Springs.

“There are extreme circumstances in which you could talk about school closures,” Hartner said. “If they didn’t have enough staff or students to open, or a school with a high concentration of high-risk children: special needs or pregnant students.”


http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/sep ... swine-flu/

The above article has taken the lead in the number of factual errors per sentence race.

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www.twitter.com/hniman

Agreed....I think the "regular flu since april" was a very odd statement.

Each statement is odd. Swine flu is widespread in Florida, Two teams canceling means its widespread in the schools. The "stomach bug" is more swine flu. The "regular flu" is swine flu.
The story is beyond silly. It is pure disinformation.

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www.twitter.com/hniman

Top-ranked Florida joins list of those battling flu
By David Jones, Florida Today
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Urban Meyer said Sunday that worries about flu have escalated with several key players ill before last Saturday's 23-13 win against Tennessee.

The Gators travel to Kentucky for a 6 p.m. game on Saturday. UF doctors could have as much to do with pregame preparation as the coaching staff.

"It is a panic level of proportion I've never seen before," Meyer said on Sunday. "That's coming from me. You hear about, I think, Wisconsin had 40 players. Ole Miss had 20 players. My wife, with her great insight, said, 'Do you realize the Swine Flu and everything is hitting the Florida campus,' last week."

GATORS WIN: Fight past Tennessee for 23-13 triumph

Meyer's wife, Shelley, has an extensive background in the nursing field and teaches at UF.

"My gosh. Our training staff and doctors are attacking this has hard as we can," Meyer said. "That Purell (a hand sanitizer) stuff's everywhere. You can't walk down the hallway without everybody telling you to do this, do this. We're trying the best we can, but it's real."

Tight end Aaron Hernandez, tailback Jeff Demps and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham — all starters — were among those battling the flu leading up the Vols' win.

"We had guys miss time. We had three of our best players. One shouldn't have played," Meyer said. "If it's anybody other than Jeff Demps, they said he probably couldn't function. And Jeff did not look right. Aaron Hernandez didn't play like Aaron Hernandez. And Jermaine didn't play like Jermaine. They were beat up pretty good."

Sick players are being treated with caution and isolated from teammates.

"Oh, yeah. I'll know more today, but I think Hernandez is on the back half (of the flu). We're worried about Dempsy because he's on the front half of it," Meyer said. "We go to the extremes. They get a separate dorm room for them. They get a separate hotel room for them. They put them right on whatever the flu stuff is. Our guys, our team doctors, they're on it as fast as you can get on it."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... -flu_N.htm

Apopka High School

As you all know, i had an interview with my principal a few weeks ago. in this interview, he gave me a copy of the county policy. the policy included...

quarantine of anyone with flu symptoms
daily classroom cleanings
notification of any students with the flu
notification to the teachers if they have a student with the flu
thorough cleaning of the sick students classes

things of that nature. well, you also know that i had the flu from Wed to Sun. i sent an email to my teachers on Thursday about it. my mom called the main office to inform them i had h1n1. they transfered her to the guidance office who transfered her to the attendance office. when she told them i had it, they said, "oh, you dont need to tell us that".

today, i talked to a few of my teachers. one said that he had a student who was confirmed to have the flu THAT SAT IN MY SEAT!!! another period (that student was absent the week before and is now back). he also had another student that had it previously and had been absent. none of the tables were ever washed and he had never been informed. he plans to clean the room himself.

i talked to another teacher and she said similar things. she had never been told and that my email was the only way she found out.

i know of 2 students in one of my classes that currently have the flu but don't want to miss school.

so, i currently know of 6 confirmed students. we only recieved a school wide call (automated) that told us of the one case weeks ago.

so, they are not informing the teachers
they are not informing the parents
they are letting the students remain in school
and they are not cleaning the rooms individually

that said, i am very pissed off right now.

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USAF recruit. Current ship date, 8/3/10. Assigned duty, imagery interpretation.

I am a semi-computer specialist and do IT for my church and friends. Also work with birds of prey at a rehab center for raptors.

I hear you, that is what is going on here in Northern California and my grandson just had it too. He will be out all week. No one cares and they are just doing not one thing here. I am just as mad as you are. I am glad you are doing ok.

Lake County students flu-like symptoms

Updated: Thursday, 24 Sep 2009, 5:51 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 24 Sep 2009, 5:51 AM EDT

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Parents in Lake County may be thinking twice before sending their kids to school today. That's because half of one school is at home with flu-like symptoms.

It's happening at the Lake Hills Special Needs Center in Howey-in-the-Hills.

The virus is spreading quickly among students and faculty members.

Plenty of people want to know if it could be the swine flu.

On Tuesday the school district sent letters home to parents telling them how to keep their children healthy and letting them know what measures the district has taken to prevent a widespread illness.
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/la ... u_symptoms