This afternoon, I participated in a statewide conference call with Dr. Patrick O’Neal and Dr. Garry McGiboney. The purpose of the conference call was to provide a routine update on the H1N1 situation and its impact on schools across Georgia. Dr. Patrick O’Neal from the Georgia Department of Community Health spoke first. He indicated that there has been a decreasing number of cases of H1N1 according to the surveillance network in Georgia. There was a peak in early September with the number of cases dropping quickly in October. Currently, 99% of the flu cases are still H1N1 cases. Even though there has been a decline in cases there are still some severe cases around. In Georgia there has been 27 deaths attributed to H1N1 or complications following H1N1 and 5 of those deaths have been children.
The H1N1 vaccine is now available in both forms (nasal mist and injectible). Supply has been sporadic. In some places the availability of seasonal flu vaccines has been inadequate to meet the demand. There is still adequate supplies of antiviral medications for treating cases of H1N1. These medications are not always needed even if a person has a cases of H1N1. Overuse could increase the chances of the virus becoming resistant to the medications. The symptoms of H1N1 are still essentially the same as those for seasonal flu and both types of flu are treated in the same manner. Parents should be advised to seek medical attention for a child showing increasing difficulty with breathing, wheezing or seizures.
Dr. McGiboney from the Georgia Department of Education gave an update of the situation in schools. He noted that across the state significant increases in absences tend to follow large events. There were two schools in Georgia that have closed so far. Each closed for two days. The first school closed because they had a significant number of staff absences and simply did not have the staff to keep school open. The second school served a student population of primarily medically fragile children. This school closed for a couple of days as a precaution to prevent the spread of the disease in this population. In terms of schools meeting the second indicator (attendance) benchmark for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Dr. McGiboney stated that the DOE understood the situation that was occurring with absences across the state and that they were prepared to offer the maximum flexibility possible in meeting this benchmark.
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