Adminstrators Claim Flu Outbreak “Peaked”

November 12, 2009 by Greg Lederer

The flu is a concern every year, so much so that millions of Americans get vaccinated before the season starts. However, with a state of national emergency declared for H1N1 this fall, added attention has been given to the warning signs and best ways to stay healthy.
Guilford recently shutdown their school system to prevent a spread of the flu and, while no student has been diagnosed with H1N1 locally, Cheshire High School chose to be pro-active in clearing sickness out of the football program last week.
Flu-like symptoms caused as many as 40 players to be absent from school, so the athletic department canceled practice at the end of last week and postponed Friday’s scheduled football game to Nov. 21, at West Haven. Practice picked back up on Monday.
“We had to make this move and take a pro-active approach. (Head Coach) Mark Ecke gave his support,” said Athletic Director Steve Trifone. “Mark has been monitoring the situation with the nurse (Barbara Ruddy) and I’ve been doing the same. Some kids missed school but wanted to come to practice, and that wasn’t a good situation. I think if we got them out of the building and prevented a spread, it’s the best solution.”
Players cleaned out the locker room so that it could be disinfected last Friday. The process included a deep clean of the bathrooms and showers.
“One thing we know about athletics and clubs is that kids will extend themselves at practices and games,” explained Principal Kevin Ryan. “By cleaning up the locker room and canceling practice, we hope to clean this up.”
According to Ryan, sickness has not been a widespread problem at CHS during this year. Eight to 10 percent of high school students have been absent this month.
“Our teacher attendance is good and absenteeism isn’t at an alarming rate. Just about half of the kids have been impacted by some kind of illness,” explained Ryan.
The H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu, was first diagnosed in this country last April. Since then, communities have been on the lookout for any indication of a widespread outbreak, especially within schools. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms include fever, cough, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, head aches, chills, and fatigue.
“To our knowledge, no one has contracted that at the school,” stated Ryan. “Kids are going home for a variety of reasons; from typical colds to sore throats. Parents ultimately decide whether to keep kids at home and we appreciate them being pro-active as well.”
Football isn’t the only sport dealing with sickness.
The boys’ cross country was hit hard as well when five of their seven varsity runners became ill heading into the State Open on Friday and many field hockey players have also missed practices.
“I’m starting to worry about it,” said senior cross country runner Dan Harris. “It definitely affected our team.”
After speaking with Ruddy, Trifone says the numbers are leveling off now.
“The 10 girls from field hockey are more colds (than flu) and (Head Coach) Eileen (Gallagher) sent them home,” added Trifone. “Our soccer teams and volleyball are ok. We are hoping that we peaked at the high school.”
“We are hoping that it doesn’t spread past the football team,” said Ryan. “We are open to taking action if another situation happens.”
Cheshire School District, as a whole, hasn’t experienced large absenteeism. Superintendent Greg Florio has been tracking absences and remains in contact with Chesprocott Health District.
“We’ve been trying to keep people informed through our Student Preparedness System,” Florio explained. “We want to keep parents involved without creating over concern.”