Just to put this all in perspective. Outside of Mexico or people who contracted the virus in Mexico at the time this story broke, NO ONE has died of this strain of swine flu. Zip, zero, zilch, nada.

So, odds are greater you'd die from being struck by lightning while standing on a ladder in your bathtub singing In a Gadda Da Vidda at the top of your lungs than if you were to contract the swine flu.

rukidding: i ended up going to the dr. a few weeks ago and it was not $50 but $160 just for an office call just fyi

Unless you live under a rock without electricity or neighbors - everyone has either read and heard about the swine flu and the comparrison & contrast to the 1918 epidemic. Yes, the virus is awful and people could die just the same, - HOWEVER - in 1918 there wasn't masks, hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial soap & the medical knowledge available today.
What about HEROIN? A VERY REAL epidemic in Janesville, Rock County, WI, and the US that has ALREADY KILLED at least 11 people (in Rock County)- mostly our kids! Heroin in the school - why on Earth worry about a mask that may or may not keep a germ in or out when parties take place, in Janesville, with a "life saver" standing by while their friends shoot up? Why isn't there the public out cry to this extreme about this epidemic?
I don't believe for one minute that the gov't in involved for economic or any other reasons in the spread of the swine flu. BUT, if our gov't could find Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole, smack dab in Iraq - why aren't we going this far, to this extent, over the DRUG epidemic that IS KILLING people and their brain cells? That's the future!
What about the absolute out cry that aproximately, 17,000 women in the USA are slaves? How many of them die each day? How about the tragic death of Ms. Ostenson in front of her child? Why isn't the whole school, city, county on this level of urgency with domestic abuse? We KNOW for SURE that 1 woman died due to domestic abuse - that's an epidemic too!
I'm not on a rant about all of the social problems within our area but we need to keep things in perspective. The proactive way we are going after this flu - let me tell you if we went after the drug dealers, the domestic abusers and the other social ills - we would ALL be a lot healthier & safer. Geez, don't mean to get on a soap box but truthfully - the swine flu is really not the biggest problem of 2009 compared to 1918.

The masks might help with kids who are known for not covering their mouths when coughing or who sneeze all over everyone else. Otherwise, the experts state they are a waste of money. The problem with this particular flu virus is that it is new and no one has an immunity to it. Also, it is a greater concern because those dying from it are not your typical flu-death victims. This flu's victims were otherwise healthy young adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Plus, Mexico City is not a "third world" area as far as health care. Lastly, work has begun on a vaccine but will take at least five months to be completed.

http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/pdf/flu_letter_ap...

"Under Wisconsin Statutes section 252.02(3) the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, through the State Health Officer or a Local Health Officer, may close schools and forbid public gatherings in schools, churches, and other places to control outbreaks and epidemics.
If a Local Health Officer or the State Health Officer orders schools to be closed, the days schools are closed under that health department order count toward the statutory 180 day requirement. School closures should include cancelling or postponing all school-sponsored events."

Doesn't look like those days need to be made up by law. What will the District do? I don't know....

Lost_city
Apr 30, 2009 at 2:29 p.m.
Suggest removal If schools get closed.. will the days need to be made up at the end of the year?
*************************************************I hope so

The analogy of "category" levels were introduced to provide an understandable connection to hurricane classification schemes, with specific reference to the recent aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Like the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the PSI ranges from 1 to 5, with Category 1 pandemics being most mild (equivalent to seasonal flu) and level 5 being reserved for the most severe "worst-case" scenario pandemics (such as the 1918 Spanish flu).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic_Se...

Wait until he border towns have a flood of swine flu infected illegals looking for a medical standard better than the crappy socialized health care Mexico has. The socialized health care Obama loves so much.
Think about it. If you lived in Mexico, where the health care sucks, and your kids got swine flu, wouldn't you come to America and get them treatment? Wasn't it Obama who just said we don't need to seal the border because it's too late?

justsome1here:
when former President Bush released information on whatever, the press took it apart (as they're supposed to do).
the job of the press is not to be the mouthpiece of any group, organization or government.
good journalists report the news but dig beyond what someone may claim as fact.
so frank is not doing what good journalists do.

If people consider this fear mongering, I would suggest you direct your comments to the CDC (the ones releasing the information) instead of the responsible journalists who are reporting it.

Scientists have identified several other differences between the current virus and its 1918 predecessor, but the significance of those differences is still unclear, said Dr. Scott Layne, an epidemiologist at the UCLA School of Public Health.
. . . The swine virus does appear able to spread easily among humans, which persuaded the WHO to boost its influenza pandemic alert level to phase 5, indicating that a worldwide outbreak of infection is very likely. And the CDC reported on its website that "a pattern of more severe illness associated with the virus may be emerging in the United States."
. . . The longer the virus survives, the more chances it has to mutate into a deadlier form.

"If this virus keep going through our summer," Palese said, "I would be very concerned."
Scientists: This swine flu relatively mild in comparison to 'regular' flu
Los Angeles Times — 4/30/2009 9:59 am
. . . /www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/449308

Driving down the interstate to buy the masks is more dangerous than the N1H1 flu virus around. Wash you hands, and don't kiss any strangers and you are fine.
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Some of you would have us handing out tickets for sneezing, closing everything down and hiding under the bed. I agree that the correlation to the Great Flu Pandemic is completely irresponsible fear mongering, I would understand if it was the N1H1 (swine) flu in 1918, but it was NOT!

While Level 5 may not be an "Oh my God, head for the hills moment" in your opinion, it is certainly not an "oh well, just keep doing what you're doing" moment either !! What's it going to take for some of you to take this seriously?!? Level 5 isn't just declared lightly - and while I don't think anyone needs to panic, certainly we should all be more vigilant. It is the uninformed and/or those who blow this off as 'no big deal' who pose the biggest threat of spreading this (or any) disease.

oh crap! Of THE opps I madee a mistake

whatcha doin Frank? Trying to up sales of teh Gazzette? TELL ALL NOT JUST ONE SIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Walgreens on Milton Avenue has an abundance of flu masks. I got a 5 pack for 3.99

Everyone is out to make someone the bad guy. Frank Schultz referred to the CDC, a governmental agency. He also made reference to historical situation. That outbreak is a possible outcome of this, which is why we are using due prudence.

I think the reporter's entry onto this blog was irresponsible and I urge his editor to discuss with him the effect of such a posting. While we cannot ignore the situation, there is no need for a 'War of the World's' type of public reaction.

WILSON SCHOOL "CAN'T control head lice,more less something as big as this! Summer vacation starts "NOW",give up your stupid state rules,lives are MORE important,don't ya think?????????

WAG THE DOG.

I kind of feel bad for Frank right now. Let's hope this flu turns out to be nothing compared to the pandemic of 1918...Use common sense, everyone, and take care.

Frank, do you understand the criteria used by the World Health Organizations when assigning the different threat levels? If you did, I think you'd agree that having any disease go to level 5 isn't really an "Oh my God, head for the hills!" moment.

What follows is copied and pasted directly from the WHO website. As you read through the different phases, I would ask you stop and think about each one and try to understand exactly what it means.

In nature, influenza viruses circulate continuously among animals, especially birds. Even though such viruses might theoretically develop into pandemic viruses, in Phase 1 no viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans.

In Phase 2 an animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans, and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.

In Phase 3, an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Limited human-to-human transmission may occur under some circumstances, for example, when there is close contact between an infected person and an unprotected caregiver. However, limited transmission under such restricted circumstances does not indicate that the virus has gained the level of transmissibility among humans necessary to cause a pandemic.

Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way.

The school district letter is WRONG FOLKS! there are no confirmed cases, unlike the letter says. Let's not instill fear to our kids please!

Frank:
I took you up. I googled the Pandemic of 1918.
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster.

WHO says 60 confirmed cases. But let's say it's a million worldwide.
The Pandemic of 1918 killed 20-40 million.
Actual deaths.
Not just people getting sick.

Where did you get your journalism degree?

I'm not saying you're nuts, booch. I'm saying that the U.S. Government's website for Center of Disease Control has the number listed as 109 laboratory confirmed cases in the states, and 1 death...This is up to date, not from Weds. morning.
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For anyone who is interested, there are also other tips on there to help keep yourself/family healthy...basically common sense type things. If you are interested in the rating scale regarding the pandemic, we're currently at a level 5, that information is on there too.
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http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

N95 respirator masks may protect better than regular surgical style masks.

before everyone says I'm nuts,
"Unfortunately that (150-plus deaths) is incorrect information and it does happen, but that's not information that's come from the World Health Organisation," Ms Allan told ABC Radio on Wednesday morning." (Allen is from the World Health Org's patient Safety Program).
Ms Allan said WHO had confirmed 40 cases of swine flu in the Americas, 26 in Mexico, six in Canada, two in Spain, two in the UK and three in New Zealand.

Thanks to all for sanity and common sense among the chaos.

According to CDC website,
+
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
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109 confirmed cases in U.S., 1 death.

OK, I'm not saying "do nothing." but there are 60 actual confirmed swine flu cases WORLDWIDE.
that's 60 out of 6,706,993,152 -- that's one in nearly every 70 million people. overhyped?
yes, i agree.
on average, approximately 5% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu, and more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year. About 36,000 Americans die on average per year from the complications of flu.

Frank,
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Still not convinced of what, exactly? Here's an interesting website with information about the pandemic of 1918...I don't understand how it could be responsible to correlate the two, though.
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http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/
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For one thing, that pandemic hit fast and there wasn't technology available for mass production of vaccinations.
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The last thing we need to do right now is "freak out." Be responsible, use common sense, yes. But comparing this to the pandemic of 1918 that claimed more lives than WW1, is not necessary.

Frank...The WHO pandemic levels are related to communicability and not lethality. Media fear mongering at its best. Does it deserve to be covered? You bet it does. Is it responsible journalism to hype the story like it has been? In my opinion no. Not picking on you but just making an observation about the media in this country.

My opinion - this swine flu epidemic is being blown out of proportion. Several orders of magnitude more people die each year from "normal" flu than have even contracted the swine flu. Outside the small cluster in Mexico, all other reports indicate people who do contract the virus get sick for a few days and that's it.

Could it mutate into something more deadly? Sure. So could avian flu as well as what we'd consider the run of the mill flu. If that were to happen, by all means break out the masks and close schools and businesses.

As for the swine flu being a deliberate attack by some foreign (or domestic) entity, I'd have to wonder why they'd choose something as relatively benign as the flu. The problem with using the flu virus as a vector for biological warfare is the virus, by its very nature, mutates quickly and often unpredictably as it gets transmitted from person to person. What was once deadly is now, not so much. Conversely, what was once a 24 hour bug now becomes something that lingers. There is no way to control it in such a way for it to be an ideal mechanism for a biological attack.

Centers for Disease Control: "... the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5 on April 29, 2009. A Phase 5 alert is a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.”"
=====================
Still not convinced? Try Googling the Pandemic of 1918.
-======================
-- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

The winter flu season kills tens of thousands every year, and there's no panic mode over that. This flu strain isn't behaving any differently than the "regular" flu at this point.

People need to quick panicking - it isn't helping anybody. Wash your hands. If you're not feeling well, stay home. Drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest. This isn't bioterrorism, it's nature.

More people die everyday from "regular flu" than have died from the swine flu since it became the media panic of the week. What ever happened to responsible reporting?

I was at walmart today and asked the cashier if there were a lot of mask sales. She said not too many but antibacterial lotion was selling more than normal. I bought some of that myself today.

Does this flu thing really deserve this much attention? Too bad we couldn't get Americans this worked up over something like......eating at fast food joints. Surely that will kill more than the flu.

I think what no one is saying earlier could be something on the order that i thought about earlier.......that country was having the issue with all the drug wars not so long ago. My thought was: Could this be some sort of bio-terrism released by someone in Mexico (drug czar,etc).

I believe state law requires that the days are made up at the end of the year, Lost_city.
.
I think that "art masks" are a great idea, and so did a lot of Asians during the SARS epidemic:
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/mult...
http://www.samiraboon.com/wawcs0116336/m...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...
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Medical experts are divided over how much simple surgical masks protect someone from another person's germs, but they generally agree they would limit your germs from spreading to someone else -- that's why surgeons wear them. Hand-washing is really more important, because the infection route is generally from an object such as a doorknob to the hands and then to the mucous membranes in the eyes or nose. The mask doesn't really prevent that.
.
In public health emergencies the doctor's excuse rule would probably be relaxed.

If schools get closed.. will the days need to be made up at the end of the year?

How about handwashing? Will the children finally be given an opportunity throughout the day to wash? Will this be supervised? I find it odd that we recieve numerous reminders of how important handwashing is, and yet there doesn't seem to be a time set aside at the schools for this practice.
The kids get 10 excused absences per year, beyond that a doctors excuse is required, which for some us means the cost of an office visit. So we are left with sending our kids to school sick, or paying fifty-bucks to be told they have a cold. And even if we don't incurr this expense the taxpayer does.
If they're going to have these attendance policies they should at the very least be required to have strict handwashing standards.
And now what? It's almost the end of the school year, many kids have used or come close to using their "sick time."
Are they going to adjust that 10 day limit as a precaution, so parents don't feel obligated to send sick children to school?
Will they be providing these masks?

By the way, anyone else have kids going bowling in the next few days?

Say what?

I wonder if they'll be allowed to draw pictures on their masks? Could make a good art project.
On another note:
While Mexico has handed out millions of facial coverings, US officials have held off, saying there is little evidence of their effectiveness.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-...

Good, I hope that they have taken time to read the several hundreds of pages that the CDC has published regarding this at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/

It is an excellent precaution that the school district is allowing this. So, no_one, what you are implying is that you would rather see an influx of Rock County being downed by this? Remember, if this is crazy thing affects too many children, it will have a correlation with them being able to support you in the event you become disabled or when you choose to retire.

So, you see, taking the precautions of protecting the children of our community and their families is the best thing we could do.

No_One you amaze me. I would think that you would be grateful that our district is taking measures to keep our kids safe. I don't know what your line of thinking is but if you think that this is related to our current economic situation I can assure you that there will be many who disagree.

No_one, what are you implying? Do you think this is a "fabrication" by our government to stimulate the economy by increasing the sales of masks? Please explain.

WOW masks at school what is the world coming to? Does anyone feel this is no accident? This Swine Flu while our country is near depression?