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Swine flu appears to be spreading on college campuses across the state.

Florida State has more than 300 reported cases since school started. At UF, there are 450 possible cases. Unconfirmed cases have even touched the Gator football team.

Football practice at Lake Brantley High School was called off in August after several team members showed flu-like symptoms. Last week, Wakulla High had to cancel a game because 15 players were out with swine flu.

Wakulla Quarterback Coach Joshua Manning says they're bracing for the worst.

"Eventually they said that all of them will end up getting sick," said Manning.

At USF, 79 students have reported flu-like symptoms. UCF wouldn't provide any numbers.

Some students say they're concerned. FSU Freshman Kyle Wilkes says he lives a little too close for comfort to some sick students.

"Yeah, right next door they actually had a note on the door [that] said 'swine flu do not enter,'" said Wilkes.

When a swine flu vaccine becomes available in mid-October, students will be one of the last groups to get the shot.

"First on the list would be pregnant women," said Susan Smith, a spokesperson for the state health department. "However, it's very important to stress that we do not anticipate a shortage in the state of Florida."

So far, 92 Floridians have died of swine flu. It's unknown if any of the victims were students.

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/09/swine ... ida-c.html

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Classrooms were likely feeling a little lonely this week at Lake Hills School in Howey-in-the-Hills after a large number of flu-related absences were reported. Starting Monday and continuing through Thursday, the number of missing students and staff increased after students reported experiencing flu-like symptoms.

The school for special needs students sent a letter home to parents earlier this week informing them of the possible flu cases. School board member Larry Metz said by Thursday the number of absentees was 93 students 10 staff members, but most of those were likely precautionary absences and not cases of the flu.

"We were making sure we were prudent," Metz said.

While that total represents a large chunk of the 163-member student body, the school was not closed. Instead, Lake County school officials said they continued to maintain their daily cleaning, disinfecting and hygiene protocols, which seem to have limited this occurrence to one school.

"We monitor daily the attendance of the entire school system and we check those numbers to see if there was any spike in absences," said Lori Humphrey, Lake County Schools liaison with the health department. "Currently we are not seeing anything else beyond Lake Hills."

Humphrey said this is the first time this year that they've had to start an investigation due to the flu. That means the health department gets involved after being notified of three or more cases. However, Metz cautions that none of the flu-like symptoms reported have been confirmed as cases of H1N1, or swine flu. At this point, the best course of action seems to be the same as school and health officials have been advocating all year.

"Stay at home if you are sick," said Lake Health Department spokesperson Sheri Hutchinson. "Wash your hands, cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw that tissue away. And obviously if you are experiencing symptoms, call your medical provider."

http://www.dailycommercial.com/092409flu-

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http://theprescription.blogs.heraldtrib ... -ers-rise/

.........Flu complaints at region’s ERs rise; other local flu stats

.........Based on the state report, released Thursday, and the Sarasota County report, 9-24SurveillanceReport[1], released today:

•Almost one in 10 complaints in ERs in the Southwest Florida region are now flu, the highest rate yet. Most of them are from children. All flu is considered to be the new H1N1 swine flu virus.
•Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties are reporting “widespread” flu activity, the highest level.
•Florida swine flu toll rose this week to 91. No new deaths in Charlotte, Sarasota or Manatee. The number of hospitalizations from flu remained steady in Sarasota and Manatee at 5 cases each. Another person was hospitalized with the flu in Charlotte last week, bringing the county total to 3.
•At the end of last week, Sarasota school nurses reported for the second week an average of nearly 20 new students per day with flu. That marks the highest level of student illness since school started. Most outbreaks have so far been contained to groups of fewer than 10 students who seem to be contracting it by being in the same classroom together, said Scott Pritchard, Sarasota County Epidemiologist

Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:49 am EDT
Today's Matchups: Swine flu vs. Tim Tebow's immune system?

By Matt Hinton

By any other name, the dreaded swine flu has swept the hemisphere all summer, ravaging offices, schools, fantasy drafts and college football rosters across the country -- Tulane, Wisconsin and Ole Miss, among others, have already suffered through team-wide outbreaks that kept a substantial portion of the squad out of practices for at least a few days, and might have affected some game day lineups. A handful of key players for Florida were sick enough last week that coach Urban Meyer offered up the flu as an explanation for the Gators' relatively sluggish victory over Tennessee. (Perhaps it also diminished Lane Kiffin's killer instinct in that game.)

But late-breaking reports out of Florida ahead of UF's game at Kentucky suggest that the true test of H1N1's mettle comes today, when the virulent strain of the virus coursing through Gainesville finally comes head to head with an army of the most upstanding, indomitable T-cells known to man:

A source close to the team confirmed late Friday night that Tim Tebow was one of several players to fly on a separate plane to Lexington from the rest of the team because he is sick with the flu. The source said that safety Major Wright was also among the players on the separate plane.

The Gainesville Sun reported this week that 97 percent of flu cases on UF’s campus this fall have been the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

The Tebow Child is still suiting up, along with at least a couple dozen other Gators who, along with a few blessed patches of grass inside Commonwealth Stadium, will draw strength from their warrior quarterback's celestial mucus.

Of course, illness is just another chance to add to the ongoing mythology of the Child -- if his under-the-weather performance against the Wildcats is anything like other legendary competitors' efforts with the flu, his fever is likely to live on as the unavoidable story of the week. Either way, the pile-ups this afternoon will not be pleasant ones.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/b ... aaf,192250

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/sports/college/football&sa=NCF&eid=4505534

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will play Saturday at Kentucky, despite a respiratory illness that forced him to travel apart from the team, a source close to the situation said.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow started Saturday at Kentucky despite a respiratory illness that forced him to travel apart from the team.

snip

Tebow and Gators teammates including cornerback Joe Haden and safety Major Wright traveled to Lexington on Friday on a separate team plane, sources told ESPN.com's Chris Low. However, the sources said the illness is not being called the flu. A source told ESPN that wide receiver Riley Cooper was also on the plane.

The Independent Florida Alligator, the student newspaper at the University of Florida, first reported the story.

A source close to the situation told ESPN's Joe Schad the three players arrived in Lexington on Friday evening, at about the same time as the team plane. The source called the illness a "respiratory condition involving congestion."

Wright and Haden missed practice Thursday, while Tebow did not feel sick until Thursday night, according to the source.

A source close to the team told Nix it actually took three planes to get the Gators to Lexington for their game against Kentucky. The primary team plane, a separate school plane with the four players including Tebow, and a third school plane with linebacker A.J. Jones, cornerback Josh Evans, center John Fairbanks, offensive lineman James Wilson and running back Mike Gillislee.

Saturday night's game (ESPN2, ESPN360.com, 6 p.m. ET) is No. 1 Florida's first SEC road game of the season.

Meyer said Thursday that the team has battled more than 35 cases of the flu over the past four weeks, but did not name Tebow among those who had become ill. Meyer said running back Jeff Demps, tight end Aaron Hernandez and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham played with the flu last week against Tennessee, while linebacker Jones and Haden were among players fighting the virus this week.

According to The Associated Press, a person familiar with Florida's travel plans said everyone on the team's expected travel roster made the trip, including receivers coach Billy Gonzales. He was sent home early in the week, but he returned and wore gloves and a mask at practice.

Meyer said earlier in the week there was no chance he would rest sick players.

"That'd be one of the major errors in coaching history to go do that, because you'd go lose," he said. "No. Absolutely not. We're going to bring everything and go as hard as we can. That gets you out of the profession, those kind of thoughts. You go as hard as you can.


.....evidently, concern for his players' health is less important to him than his career, imo.

"The good thing is I've got a mature group. Not a whole lot of cheerleading going on this week. Got to get better and go play."
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The Gators beat Tennessee 23-13 last Saturday, a disappointing victory for the heavily favored Gators. Meyer partially blamed the conservative game plan on the illnesses. Volunteers coach Lane Kiffin indicated that Meyer was using the illnesses as an excuse to justify a less-than-desirable performance.

The Gainesville Sun reported this week that 97 percent of flu cases on UF's campus this fall have been the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

Flu strikes fourth-graders at Woodward Elementary in DeLand
One case of swine flu confirmed

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Sep 28, 2009 - 5:27:31pm

Volusia County Schools has been notifying parents of students at Woodward Avenue Elementary School in DeLand that half the students in one fourth-grade class were absent Monday, Sept. 28.

"Twelve of 23 students were absent this morning, with four more students and their teacher being sent home after arriving on campus," an announcement from spokeswoman Nancy Wait stated.

H1N1 (swine flu) was confirmed in one of those dozen students.

http://www.beacononlinenews.com/news/daily/2091

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJ ... 093009.htm

September 30, 2009 [update of Monday's stats.]

Swine flu keeps kids from DeLand school

DELAND -- Parents kept their children home in droves Tuesday from Woodward Avenue Elementary School rather than possibly expose them to the flu-like symptoms that hit one fourth-grade class hard.

Seventeen percent of the school's 660 students stayed home Tuesday, school district spokeswoman Nancy Wait said, with most parents saying they were keeping children home as a precaution. The normal absentee rate is about 6 percent, Wait said.

School and Health Department officials announced Monday that one case of H1N1 swine flu had been diagnosed among children in a fourth-grade class where 16 of the 23 children and the teacher were experiencing flu-like and/or upper respiratory symptoms.

Woodward parents were notified in notes and phone calls of the breakout of flu-like symptoms and how to prevent the spread of flu. The school is also carefully cleaning items, such as desks and doorknobs, that frequently come into contact with students' hands.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009 ... r+two+days

Flu bug shuts down Pasco high school for two days

PASCO COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- School administrators canceled classes for a Pasco County high school after nearly half of the student body called out sick.


According to Bay News 9's partner paper, the St. Petersburg Times, 100 students were absent from Bishop McLaughlin High School on Monday and Tuesday.

As a result, administrators decided to cancel classes for the rest of the week.

The illnesses seem to be caused by an outbreak of the flu and common cold.

School administrators have not said whether any of the students are ill with the H1N1 virus, but health department workers say that is the most common strain of the flu virus circulating through the county right now.

Volusia teen dies from swine flu

Updated: Wednesday, 07 Oct 2009, 12:17 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 07 Oct 2009, 11:36 AM EDT

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Volusia County Health Department has been notified of an H1N1 swine flu related death of a 15-year-old male. He has been identified as a special needs student from New Smyrna Beach High School.

While most cases of H1N1 swine flu are mild, there are exceptions. This case involved health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from flu. Volusia County has four laboratory confirmed swine flu related deaths.

The Volusia County Health Department is preparing to receive the H1N1 nasal spray and the injectable vaccine which is expected this month. Vaccine arrivals are scheduled to continue weekly throughout October, November, and December. People should also check with their private doctors regarding the availability of the vaccine.
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/health/ ... _swine_flu

LAKELAND | Santa Fe Catholic was closed today and will be closed Friday because of a number of confirmed and probable cases of the flu. All activities at the school have been canceled.

The employee said there had been a “few cases of swine flu” in their students. She did not provide any numbers.

http://www.theledger.com/article/200910 ... igh-School