The Flu And Your School

[Scott]

As the possibility of a major flu epidemic looms and as some schools have already had outbreaks and closures, this thread is for comments, suggestions and concerns that teachers might have about either their individual situation or the situation in their school or area.

Have health issued been discussed with the staff and students?

Do you have health insurance?

Do you have sick leave?

I am also wondering about people who teach at private tuition schools, as they may be at higher risk than the rest of us because of students from a wider area.

Where I work, we have alerted teachers to the problem and possible threat. The school has discussed ways to avoid the flu with students and has lightened up on a number of rules about individual water bottles and cups in the classroom.

If you have any comments or concerns, feel free to share them.

[Firelily]

As long as it is common and totally accepted in this country to drop off 3 to 6-year-olds at preschool who have a high fever, throw up right at the doorstep, sleep all day and needs to be medicated several times, there is nothing we can do. Other parents don't speak up, Thai teachers don't speak up, the management just tries to cover up everything that may happen. If this thing wants to spread, it will before we even notice in these classrooms where we cannot possibly keep up a healthy environment, where children are used to lining up for their after-lunch fever / cough / sore throat / ear infection / etc medicine, where they sneeze, snot and drool over each other and toys, furniture, etc. You can imagine if you want to.

[Scott]

I have a number of concerns, but I don't know if there's much that can be done, except be vigilant. I went to our schools Nursery the other day--and that's where the really little ones are. One little girl was crying and came over for me to pick her up, which I did. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, snot coming out of her nose and then she started coughing on me. I felt her forhead and she seemed to have a fever. Took her to the nurses room.

I don't know if she has the flu or just one of the thousands of things that these little ones get, but, I thought, if one of these little ones get the flu, it's going to spread like an Austrailian wild fire.

Fortunately, we have a nurse in the nursery, but about all she can do is take resonable precautions and figure out if someone is really sick.

In the rest of the school, it's the number of kids sharing water cups etc. that's also worrying.

Schools just have too many people in close quarters to really prevent it spreading.

[Ijustwannateach]

The cat's really out of the bag now, anyway. It will gradually spread around the world and become part of the regular flu cycle- we teachers will probably be among the groups of adults to enjoy it first, though! No helping it- anyone in contact with lots of kids will catch whatever colds or flu are going around.

Wash your hands a lot; put anyone apparently feverish, sick and coughing, and dumb/unlucky enough to come to school either in the nurse's room or the back of the class, and try to stay as healthy as possibly in other parts of your life.

[Credo]

If places take precautions they can prevent large cluster outbreaks. In schools, where even the most stringent health measures are likely to be unsuccessful, every effort should be made to slow the transmission and minimize the impact.

[Credo]

We had 11 students in the high school sent to the doctor today with Flu like symptoms. Five were in one class alone. This was just in the High School program. I have no idea if the other programs had any.

We should find out tomorrow or Friday what it is. Up until today absences have run about a normal rate.

[PeaceBlondie]

Credo, welcome to ThaiVisa and thanks fur your comments.

[kurnell]

My wife called my daughter's pre-school to ask what precautions they were taking to prevent sick children from coming to school. At first the teacher didn't seem to understand the question. Then, as if prompted, she said that if kids arrive with a runny nose they will send them home. She asked if they were checking kids to see if they have a fever. She said no. When pushed that they should do better, the teacher said she would look into it.

Being lazy, careless and blasé has worked for generations of Thais. Why change now?

[Scott]

As of Monday, we had 2 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) at the school and a number of suspected cases. We also have 3 teachers out--two of whom have flu-like symptoms, but neither is planning on going to the Dr. since their symptoms are mild. Both required some encouragement to stay home as they thought they could probably make it to school. I told them it wasn't a good time for heroic measures and covering their classes will only a very minor inconvenience.

Among the student population the rate of absences is higher than normal, but it's not significantly. It remains to be seen if this is just the beginning.

The other teacher was hitting the sauce last night, so I suspect his illness is not flu related.

I also thought I heard on the news this morning (car radio) that Harrow International School is closed today (24 Jun) can anybody confirm this.

The Public Health Ministry is quite vague toward their recommendations--We were instructed to move the classes to a different room and disinfect those rooms. Nothing else.

[mizzi39]

I find it kind of odd that there has been no talk of, or precautionary measures taken at my school. We have over 3,500 students. I have noticed an increase in absences over the past 2 weeks. Maybe it is just the common cold. There has been no confirmed cases of swine flu where I live in Issan that I know of.

I do worry about my son. He is only 1, and his little immune system is still developing. Fortunately kids seem to be more resilient and bounce back rather quickly after being sick. I guess it is a good idea to keep your guard up.

[Jungian]

If you are working in Thailand you should be paying taxes and social security assuming you are not an illegal. If you are legal and pay your taxes and social security you should have free health care and not have to bother with other insurance which you can also only get if you are here legally but if you are not chances are you can not afford it anyway.

Also Thailand has strict employment laws that allow sick leave even with salary by doctors orders as long as you are paying tax. If your employer is not withholding tax and social security it is still your responsibility to pay it at city hall the first year and on line every year after that for which in most cases the benefits out way the cost.

Other than that the best way to stay well is to keep yourself and everything else clean and germ free, buy some wet wipes and waterless hand cleaner, avoid touching your face, nose and mouth and make the children wash their hands and explain to them that it is so they don't get sick.

[Credo]

At our school there have been 3 confirmed cases of A(H1N1), with a lot of suspected cases. The administration tried to keep it quiet, but we have a good nurse, who refused. She's in a little trouble. Someone from the Public Health Ministry was called and showed up. One class has been shut down and all students in that class have been sent home for several days.

We have teachers who are going on visa runs (Laos) and they were instructed not to return to the school for 7 days after returning from Laos. I don't know if this applies to Cambodia. As a matter of fact I don't know if this applies to other schools. Since these are new teachers, they don't sick leave yet, but the Dr. from the ministry instructed the Administration to pay them, which they said they would do.

We also have several teachers out sick. They were told to stay home until fully recovered.

I wish the government was more open and honest about where the virus is and how fast it is spreading. A lot of people I know are scared of it. More scared than they need to be and some are doing silly things that won't protect them while doing things that are dangerous.

[Credo]

Our school is closed tomorrow. Over 200 students currently sick with several confirmed cases of AH1N1. Another school not far away was closed as well, but two nearby schools don't seem to be having a big problem. Interesting. Difficult to know what is going on.

[kato]

An interesting thread. Things have been pretty normal at my school (kindergarten and prathom, 2000+ students) until yesterday, when a medical team visited to check out the students.

Today, there were a couple more kids absent in every class, but when I got to my final class, the P6 'king class', I had only 11 students of of a normal 23, and in their whole class only 20 our of 44 were in for the day. The students told us some friends were off as the nurse had deemed them sick, but others were staying away because their parents feared them getting ill in the run up to their final exams at the end of the year. It will be interesting to see if the fear among parents grows, or is always going to be limited to the highest achievers.

[Credo]

My school was closed too. Many, many cases of flu and flu-like symptoms. At least 3 confirmed cases and 200+ students absent in the high school. I am sure at least 20% of it was hysteria by the parents. The thing was, many students were being sent home by the nurse, who was checking them for signs of the flu, such as high temperature.

Of course there were students who were going to the nurse every period to see if they had a fever and could get sent home.

[Credo]

The government is being more open with information and it seems that people are less hysterical. We ended up closed on 3 confirmed cases, but we re continuing to operate now and have 28 confirmed cases. The cases are isolated to several classes. The classroom was closed for cleaning and disinfecting and the remaining students were moved to a different room. All students who were in contact with the infected classes, including those students in the class that were at school were checked several times during the day for fever.

It seems this bug is going to be around for a while and hope everyone can cope with it.

[Scalawag]

I don't understand why the government is telling people to wear a mask when Swine flue is not air born but is caught via touch. Is it just to make folks feel safer?

[Scott]

My understanding is that the flu virus is air borne and can be transmitted this way. The masks are probably only useful if someone is infected and it can cut down on the virus being expelled by them. It's most likely not a real effective method of control. Where I work, students who wear masks lay them in places that could cause them to be contaminated and in at least one case, I saw a student put on another student's mask!

The time that the virus can live in an air borne state isn't a long time. It can live on surfaces longer, I believe.

Sadly, this is the information that should be 'out there' and that teachers, administrators and students should be aware of.

[Laughing Gravy]

My understanding is that the flu virus is air borne and can be transmitted this way. The masks are probably only useful if someone is infected and it can cut down on the virus being expelled by them. It's most likely not a real effective method of control. Where I work, students who wear masks lay them in places that could cause them to be contaminated and in at least one case, I saw a student put on another student's mask!

The time that the virus can live in an air borne state isn't a long time. It can live on surfaces longer, I believe.

Sadly, this is the information that should be 'out there' and that teachers, administrators and students should be aware of.

Also the masks need to be wore at all times. how often do you see the children taking them off for a few seconds and/or eating. Once again people just are not educated on the masks. Wearing masks as you quite rightly said reduces the risk of that person spreading the disease (providing it stays on their face and covers the mouth and nose) but doesn't stop germs coming through.

There is a good article on the Guardian newspaper on prevention and wearing masks. Another thing is that masks cause that area to get "wet and moist" increasing the risk of disease. I know that there has ben some cases of the HN! but with the current climate and wet season there is also a greater number of "paranoid flu" or the common flu.

The hospitals must be loving this as the sales of Paracetamol and Ibruffin must have soared. It also seems that that they are charging quite a lot for the HN1 test and anyone who resembles any flu like symptoms are being treated as HN1. My advice to everyone is to go and see a reputable doctor.

[toptuan]

We had a death last Monday from H1N1. Despite that, no talk of closing school.

[Ijustwannateach]

So sorry to hear about your school's loss, Toptuan. Although most of the cases seem rather routine and even mild, we shouldn't forget that this is a *new* sickness and it will have unpredictable and occasionally deadly effects- just as many of the old sicknesses do. And, despite the risks, the show has to go on as best it can.

[Mario2008]

Indeed sorry to hear of the loss. In Uttaradit 2 schools are closed down for 2 weeks. My own school might do the same. For now we have been given facial masks and everyone gets instructions about hygiene.

[Laughing Gravy]

So sorry to hear about your school's loss, Toptuan. Although most of the cases seem rather routine and even mild, we shouldn't forget that this is a *new* sickness and it will have unpredictable and occasionally deadly effects- just as many of the old sicknesses do. And, despite the risks, the show has to go on as best it can.

Yes it is sad to hear about a young life dying. What i don't get is the use of masks. Are they on all the time? How are children going to eat aswell as staff? In seperate cubicles? If not then the masks are a waste of time. I know that children/students have good intentions but they pull the masks off within a few minutes and put it back on.

Sadly we have created a culture where for the slightest cold or sniffle we give out antibiotics. The body's natural immune system is not as effective as it should be. There are in my opinion two ways to handle the situation. Firstly lock everyone away and hope it goes away or secondly get on with life, increase hygeine and minimise the risks where possible. You tell people there is an epedemic and many will start feeling they have the disease. That doesn't mean not informing people but not the scare mongeering that is happening not only in Thailand but the western world. You craete fear amongst people and you get it pretty quickly. Just look at the hospitals at the moment. I think we all know how "sensitive" Thai people can be with colds and flu.

Lets hope this gets resolved soon.

[Scott]

Toptuan: I am very sorry for your loss. It's always hard to lose a student (I am assuming it was a student). A couple of years ago we had a 12th grade boy who drowned (not related to school). It's so difficult to see a life cut short.

I am concerned about this flu partially because it's likely to circle around and bite us in the backside. It's present form isn't so bad, but if/when it mutates it could be much worse.

[markg]

No advice had been given officially to our department by our school.

I do think though, that as educated TEACHERS it should be incumbent on us to take some action.

Some of our classrooms at school have aircon. Students see that as a luxury privileged and are reluctant to turn it off and open the windows. However, one of my M6 classes has taken it upon themselves to shut off the aircon and open all doors and windows. They told me it was very hot and a bit uncomfortable but that was healthier and that they were doing this only because of swine flu.

I'm so proud of them for doing it themselves. The other M6 classes have yet to follow suit.

I send clearly sick students to the sick bay. They may just have a cold for all i know, but i at least need to get a nurse to check them out.

The uneducated use of masks is a waste of time in my view - and i'm talking as an ex military man who was trained in chemical warfare defenses.

If a sick child touches his mask - say to pull it down to eat - then his hand is contaminated, and so is everything his hand touches.

The mask filters have a finite life. In the Army, filters were changed every 4 hours.

I've seen kids arrive with masks yet leave without them.

Some kids have 'fun' masks, with designs or faces on them - which they swap between their friends to see who is funniest. !

Curiously, our sick levels are only very slightly higher than normal. Say 3 or 4 kids off per class instead of 1 or 2 (in a class of 30). They may be sick, or their parents may be keeping them out of school as a preventative measure. I dont know.

We can do our best to prevent the spread of this, and may still become sick. But to do nothing at all and just accept we will become sick is just not right in my view.

Our school said on Wednesday that it will not close, however, friends in other schools in our area have said they have been told they will be closing for 2 weeks. I guess we will find out at 3pm Friday!

[Scott]

Given the nature of children, there isn't a lot that can be done to prevent the spread of the flu. Getting sick kids isolated from the rest is probably the most that can be done--along with keep things as sanitary as possible in the school.

Some schools will be luckier than others. Some will just have a lower infection rate or a slower spread of the disease. It probably has little to do with what the school itself is doing.

This, however, can be a good opportunity to educate students about viruses, the spread of viruses, infections etc.

[mizzi39]

Our school is closed tomorrow. Ministry of health wants all schools in the province closed and cleaned! Don't know if this will cut down on flu transmission, but i am sure that it wont hurt. Four deaths confirmed in my province.

[Mario2008]

My school is closed too tomorrow. Don't know about Monday yet.

So far 1 confirmed case at my school.

[Scott]

Wow. We had 28 confirmed cases and still operating. (We were closed for one day when we had 3 confirmed cases--but that closure had more to do with they hysteria than the flu). The flu is pretty routine at our school right now.

[dkstoney]

Hey Mizzi,

You forgot to tell them that it's the students who've been called in to do the cleaning. Bunch of saps.