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Swine flu case reported in Janesville

JANESVILLE — A child who attends Janesville’s Washington Elementary School will be out for a week with the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu.

This is the first case of this influenza strain in the Janesville schools.

The school will not be closed. The district is following guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control, which says that a school may remain open, but the student must stay home for seven days.

The school will send a child home if officials see flu symptoms, according to a district news release.

The school also is talking with any parent who calls in to report an absent, ill child, to check the child’s symptoms.

Students who have no symptoms should feel free to go to school or other public places, said Mat Haeger, manager of health services for the school district. Those with flu symptoms should see a doctor.

People may want to know what grade or classroom the student is in, Haeger said, but the chances of catching the virus from someone at Washington are no greater than catching it somewhere else in the community.

This is a great opportunity to stress hand washing and covering one’s mouth when coughing, Haeger said.

Rock County Health Officer Karen Cain said the student was not hospitalized.

Cain would not say whether the student had visited an area where swine flu was prevalent.

Rock County is now considered an affected area, so the student is from such an area, she said.

About 162 Rock County residents have been tested, and eight have tested positive for swine flu, Cain said. As of Friday, Wisconsin had 613 confirmed cases, one of the highest counts in the country.