Superintendent Dr. Elliot Landon reacted to the outbreak of H1N1 (previously known as Swine Flu) by sending a letter out to teachers and parents in the Westport Public School District. The letter follows:

Dear Colleague,

Thanks to a parent’s thoughtfulness and willingness to share, we have learned that a student in Westport Public Schools has had a confirmed case of H1N1 [Swine Flu] influenza. The case was mild and the student has recovered. Given the increasing number of confirmed cases in surrounding communities, we have to assume that we have already had at least a few cases in Westport. Our district’s plan for handling a confirmed case is based upon recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The recommendations can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/k12_dismissal.htm and include the following:

Students, faculty, or staff with influenza-like illness (fever with a cough or sore throat) should stay home and not attend school or child care programs, or go into the community except to seek medical care for at least 7 days even if symptoms resolve sooner.

Students, faculty, and staff who are still sick 7 days after they become ill should continue to stay home from school and child care programs until at least 24 hours after symptoms have resolved.

Students, faculty, and staff who appear to have an influenza-like illness at arrival or become ill during the day should be isolated promptly in a room separate from other students and sent home.

Parents and guardians should monitor their school-aged children, and faculty and staff should self-monitor every morning for symptoms of influenza-like illness.

 Because a student is a member of a family and other family members are also active in the community, it is not useful to identify one school. Rather, every school should be on alert that they H1N1 flu is here. We ask all parents to be vigilant, and to follow the above guidelines, most importantly to keep their children home from school if there is any question of flu-like symptoms. We also ask our staff to follow these recommendations.

We will continue to monitor for flu-like illness in the schools, keep you informed, and consult with our School Medical Advisor, Dr. Norman Weinberger, and our local Director of Health, Mark Cooper.

Thank you for you cooperation.
Dr. Elliot Landon