CDC: Don't Close Schools for Swine Flu

For Now, Swine Flu Milder Than Feared -- Even in Mexico

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

May 5, 2009 -- Schools should no longer close when students come down with H1N1 swine flu -- and schools closed due to the new flu may reopen, the CDC today announced.

The softening of the CDC's official guidance for schools reflects a cautious easing of concern over the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

The school-guidance announcement came from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, whose first official trip outside Washington D.C. was made to the CDC's Atlanta headquarters.

"The new guidance will recommend schools cease closing with recognized cases if H1N1 flu," Sebelius said at a news conference. "We hope this will alleviate some of the burdens on parents and workers. But keeping children safe and sound took the top priority until we knew more about this disease."

The change means more responsibility for parents, who now are asked to check their kids for signs of illness before sending them off to school. If their kids seem ill, parents are asked to keep them home for seven days -- even if they feel better in the meantime.

"And parents, don't turn around and send that child to the mall. This is about keeping children home until the virus can't be spread any further," Sebelius said.

Teachers, too will have more responsibility. They're asked to be on the lookout for kids with signs of illness and to send home any child who shows signs of the flu.

Ironically, the continued spread of H1N1 flu is one reason behind the softer CDC advice. If school outbreaks were the nexus of flu spread in the community, it might make sense to close them. But Richard Besser, MD, acting CDC director, said that school-related cases simply reflect H1N1 flu cases already in the community.

"We know that in communities where they had cases in schools, they already had cases in the community -- so trying to stop the spread of the virus by school closing is not effective," Besser said at the news conference.

As of today, the CDC says the U.S. has seen 1,105 probable and confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu in 44 states. So far, there have been 35 known hospitalizations and one death in the U.S. Most cases have been in young people: The median age of cases is 16, and 62% of confirmed cases have been in people under age 18.