• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Swine flu spreads through area

Photo Gallery

Fighting back against the flu

Staff spent the week cleaning Walworth Middle and Grade School after an outbreak of illness forced officials to close school Tuesday. Classes will resume Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. STORY

View Gallery

JANESVILLE — Swine flu is here, and it’s spreading.

School and health officials say the number of illnesses increased late last week, boosting absentee rates and filling doctors offices.

“It increased dramatically this week, with the illnesses in general,” said pediatrician Mark Goelzer, medical director of Mercy Health System. “It picked up at the end of last week, beginning of this week.

“It’s been incredibly busy in the clinics and emergency room with patients that demonstrate flu-like symptoms.”

Patients have been a smattering of ages, but Goelzer said he’s seeing a lot more young children and teens ill with flu-like symptoms than is typical for this early in the season.

“As best we know, the seasonal flu is not here yet,” he said.

Debbie Erickson, nursing supervisor at the Rock County Health Department, confirmed they haven’t yet seen any seasonal flu.

“Ninety-nine percent of any influenza-like illness is H1N1,” she said.

High absenteeism among students and staff at Walworth elementary and middle schools forced officials to close the schools Tuesday through the end of week.

Walworth County Health Officer Pat Grove said the county has had 64 confirmed cases of H1N1 in the past two weeks, an increase since September. The department is monitoring absentee rates at schools throughout the county and saw an increase in districts during their homecoming weeks, she said.

The classic flu symptoms include muscle aches, headache, cough, scratchy throat and high fever, Goelzer said. A bad cold typically doesn’t have the significant muscle ache or the wiped-out feeling, he said.

Erickson said body ache and fever are among distinguishing symptoms of flu.

Sick people are advised to stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication, Erickson said. That typically translates into three to five days out, she said.

Most kids sick with flu-like symptoms can be treated at home without a doctor visit, Goelzer said.

“A lot of them really don’t need to come in,” he said.

That shouldn’t discourage parents, however, from bringing their kids to the doctor if they fear complications or other issues, he said.

“The dilemma is we don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Goelzer said of the spread of swine flu. “It’s dependant on the pool of people who have never seen similar strains of this in the past, (and that) population could be tremendous.”

Federal health officials determined people 24 and younger have never come in contact with similar strains, he said. Hopefully, the vaccination effort will help, he said.

The Rock County Health Department is scheduled to start its swine flu vaccination clinics in schools next week for people ages 6 months to 24 years, starting with Clinton High School from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. That’s if the vaccine arrives, which it should, Erickson said.

Walworth County health officials are planning vaccine clinics in six communities for targeted populations but won’t release the details until vaccines arrive, Grove said.