Medford school reports three H1N1 cases on Owatonna

MEDFORD —Three cases of H1N1 have been reported in students at Medford Public School this week, according to school officials.

“The first case I found out about was on Monday when I got to work,” said Dayna Gerlach, the school nurse at Medford. “The child was diagnosed over the weekend.”

By Friday, cases of the H1N1 virus had been reported in two more students, and Gerlach said the illness occurred at both the elementary and secondary grade levels.

The staff at Medford Public School have already taken additional measures to protect students from contracting the new strain of influenza. Gerlach said the school is following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health and keeping close contact with the local health department in order to ensure proper plans are in place.

And, in order to alert parents to the possibility of the virus, the school district sent a note home with students this week.

“There has been a confirmed case of the Novel H1N1 virus in our school,” the note read. “…We are notifying you to keep you informed and to help us keep the children safe and healthy.”

However, Dee Ann Pettyjohn, director of Steele County Public Health, said though public health was in communication with the school, they had not received confirmation from a physician or testing facility that the influenza was the H1N1 strain.

“The process doesn’t demand that at this point,” said Pettyjohn. “If people have influenza-like illness, we’re pretty much assuming it’s probably H1N1.”

The reports of the illness come only days after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the designation of flu activity in Minnesota to “widespread.” The classification is the highest level in the CDC’s flu reporting system. That means cases of influenza have been reported in at least half of the regions in the state.

As of Wednesday, more than 30 schools in the state reported significant numbers of influenza-like illness were occurring. At other schools in Steele County, however, there is no sign of the H1N1 virus.

“We have no confirmed cases here at all,” said Don Johnson, principal of Owatonna High School.

Tom Tapper, superintendent of Owatonna public schools, confirmed that nothing district-wide had been reported. But he added that because influenza is not being tested at its onset, there is no way to be certain of what strain of influenza a student has. He did say that the school was not experiencing unusual absence rates.

In the Blooming Prairie School District, the report was the same.

“As far as we know, we do not have any confirmed cases,” said Barry Olson, superintendent of the district.

As of Wednesday, 272 laboratory confirmed cases of novel H1N1 had been confirmed in Minnesota. In the southeast region, an 11-county region that includes Steele County, 18 cases had been confirmed as of Friday. The cases that were laboratory-tested, however, only consisted of those where the patient had died or required hospitalization.

Precautions people can take include simple prevention measures, like frequent hand washing, covering a cough or a sneeze with a sleeve or tissue, and staying home if flu-like illness occurs. Most otherwise healthy people can recover from the flu at home without the need for visiting a health care provider.

Melissa Kaelin can be reached at 444-2372.

Share:

Digg

Guidelines: Welcome to the Owatonna People's Press community. Please keep your comments civil. Don't attack other readers personally and keep your language decent. If you would like to report abuse click here to notify us.
Member Opinions: By: rokuroku on 9/19/09 They are just now telling us, I am sure most of us already knew about this earlier in the week!!! Thanks for keeping us up to date OPP. By: secretsquirrel on 9/19/09 I wouldn't complain much rokur oku, at least OPP doesn't use H1N1 to rip on their community's athletes: http://faribault.com/news.php?viewStory=94096 Read the second subject under Saturday Starters and then note the kind remark made by either Jaci or Paula about Putrah's remark. What a way to support community athletes.... By: rothvl on 9/19/09 Yeah, Faribault's a peachy place to live, isn't it? By: secretsquirrel on 9/19/09 It certainly has it's days.... or should I say editions? By: TaxPayer on 9/19/09 Just a question - The picture on the 'home page' is . . . ???? Anybody know?? By: pax2u on 9/19/09 UFO?...FBI??....IRS??...GOP??? LOL By: kadrmas21 on 9/19/09 Well, my question is, where is this swine flu coming from? The school needs to be shut down, and scrubbed and disinfected. I want to know where these kids and their families were? That flu did not get here by accident. Were they down in Mexico or what? By: trueblue on 9/20/09 Mexico? Are you serious. I don't think this individual understands just how widespread the h1n1 really is. By: tor101 on 9/20/09 My question is: If we are not testing people here until it is bad enough to be hospitalized,how do we really know who really has the H1N1 virus. This is what owatonna clinic told a member of my family who is really sick rite now, that they will only test her if it is bad enough to be hospitalized. The other thing is how about the kids in the schools that have underlying health conditions in which they are saying it will be the worst for them, auto immune disease,diabetes and so on. What about these kids that cannot get the shot until it comes out. Will they test these people who have an underlying condition or shall we just not even worry about it. If it was my child who had any of these I would want to know if they are sick and have it as they say it is worse for them. By: Thinking_Outloud on 9/20/09 kadrmas21: The H1N1 virus is a worldwide pandemic. Here is a simple definition: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a pandemic can start when three conditions have been met: 1. emergence of a disease new to a population 2. agents infect humans, causing serious illness; and 3. agents spread easily and sustainably among humans. A disease or condition is not a pandemic merely because it is widespread or kills many people; it must also be infectious. For instance, cancer is responsible for many deaths but is not considered a pandemic because the disease is not infectious or contagious. So, in light of that information, the influenza is coming from everywhere. (to answer your specific question) No one is brought it here on purpose. By: kadrmas21 on 9/21/09 Yes, I am aware that it is a world wide pandemic now. I also did not suggest anyone intentionally brought it here on purpose. Nice try at passing me off as a bigot and a xenophobe though. Not true. Thanks for taking what I said out of context. However, this whole mess DID start in Mexico, there is simply no doubt about it. I was merely wondering why people would be irresponsible enough to go around and not wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough? I am not claiming to be perfect, but I will state the obvious, when there is an illness going around, it always makes sense to wash one's hand to cover one's mouth. By: PhillyNow on 9/21/09 Personally I'd rather have the H1N1 than the regular flu. People I know who have had it were only sick for 3 days while those who have regular seasonal flu are out for a week. By: secretsquirrel on 9/21/09 I suggest that all of you be inoculated with rodent antigens. Being a squirrel that's the only logical explanation I have for NEVER having had the flu for more than 24 hours no matter what critter it's named after. For some reason, on the extremely rare occasions I have had the flu, it comes on like gangbusters after midnight, makes me wish I were dead as I snooze with my head resting over the rim for about four hours. Then, I go back to bed and wake up a couple hours later feeling tired but otherwise perfectly alright. Is there a doctor in the house? Explain THAT one to me. LOL By: Thinking_Outloud on 9/21/09 ss...What you describe having would either be gastroenteritis or food poisoning. Influenza is the illness (both seasonal and H1N1) that attacks the upper respiratory system with lung and cold like symptoms. Then you get the added bonus of high fever, muscle/body aches, chills and sore throat. Sometimes (albeit rarely) there are intestinal/stomach issues associated with Influenza, but it is not one of the common signs. A lot of people hear "the flu" and think of their stomachs. That is an old misnomer. Hope that helps. By: depressed81 on 9/21/09 Wake up people....WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC....When this H1N1 started getting worse over the summer here in MN...they maybe should have thought about closing the schools until the vaccine was ready for the children. I am only thinking of the children here, I have 2 elementary kids and when this flu hit the school here, I had only heard about the 7th graded having it. I found out from the girls that I work with that go to high school up there that it was actually 3 people that got it. Then the school goes and puts in hand sanitizers when it's already to late. No one thought it would be bad once schools started, yeah whoever thought to tell people that was not thinking at all. Schools are starting to be the breeding grounds for this flu. What are they going to do when all the children get sick? By that time it's going to be to late to do anything. By: pax2u on 9/22/09 ss ..that could be alcohol ....lol symptoms: after midnight wishing you were dead up close and personal with the rim getting rid of it all then feeling better! yep.. sounds like a fun night in O-town! depressed...I am sad that you choose that for a name! hope things get better for you! By: quinn on 9/23/09 Dr pax2u, you could very well be right! By: stormchaser28 on 9/25/09 Thanks for the laugh pax2u.
Login and voice your opinion!