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Calls to keep schools closed over swine flu fears
Ben Bailey21.07.09
Ministers were asked today to consider closing schools this autumn to help curb the number of swine flu infections.
Amid predictions that the number of cases will soar as the school holidays come to an end, two infection experts have argued that a school closure programme could "break the chains of transmission" and buy time to produce a vaccine.
Professor Neil Ferguson and Dr Simon Cauchemez, from the department of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College London, also cited studies showing that closing schools at the height of a flu pandemic could cut the number of cases by up to 45%.
"The (swine flu) pandemic could become more severe, and so the current cautious approach of not necessarily recommending school closure in Europe and North America might need reappraisal in the autumn," they said in the paper, published in the leading medical journal The Lancet.
The scientists quoted a recent French study which suggested that "proactively" closing schools could reduce flu cases by 13% to 17% overall, and by between 38% and 45% during the outbreak's peak.
The report said as children appeared to be more susceptible to the current bug that adults, there could be "strong arguments" for ministers to revisit their policy on school closures.
"It is...hoped that closure of schools during the pandemic might break the chains of transmission, with the following potential benefits: reducing the total number of cases; slowing the epidemic to give more time for vaccine production; and reducing the incidence of cases at the peak of the epidemic, limiting both the stress on healthcare systems and peak absenteeism in the general population, and thus increasing community-wide resilience," the researchers said.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls told The Guardian that there was "no longer" a case for closing schools to contain the infection's spread as the virus was already established in the community.
But he added: "We will be monitoring the situation closely over the school holidays and will review the evidence in late August."
Yesterday Health Secretary Andy Burnham sought to reassure pregnant women over swine flu today amid criticism of the Government's handling of the issue.
In a statement to MPs, Mr Burnham insisted the Government's advice to expectant mothers had not changed.
Most pregnant women with swine flu will only get mild symptoms and they should continue normal activity such as going to work, travelling on public transport and attending events and family gatherings, he said.
But owing to a higher possibility of complications, he said they should wash their hands frequently with soap and water and avoid contact with people who have swine flu.
Earlier, Mr Burnham maintained the NHS had dealt "fantastically well" with the virus.
He urged the country to "have confidence" in the handling of swine flu, saying preparations for tackling the illness were the best in the world.
Mr Burnham also urged a sense of "perspective" on the virus.
He said: "It really is important to keep everything in perspective. This is a mild virus ... and there have been thousands of people already who have had it and made a quick recovery.
"We have got the best preparations in place to deal with this and we are dealing with it fantastically well.
"The NHS is a wonderfully resilient organisation and it has absorbed the extra pressure it has been under. GPs, in particular, have done a fantastic job around the country.
"Our plans are - according to the World Health Organisation, not me - the best preparations in the world."
Mr Burnham told the Commons the National Pandemic Flu Service for England would be up and running by the end of the week "subject to testing".
The telephone and internet-based service will enable people to get a diagnosis of swine flu, obtain a unique reference number, and gain access to Tamiflu.
People will be diagnosed over the telephone or can follow a questionnaire on the internet which will give them a diagnosis.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates there were 55,000 new cases of swine flu in England the week before last, including people visiting GPs and those who are looking after themselves at home.
The total number of deaths linked to swine flu now stands at 29 in the UK.
Officials have warned that visitors to a number of countries face strict screening procedures as the illness spreads.
This was demonstrated in China, where more than 100 British schoolchildren and teachers were placed in quarantine in a Beijing hotel after eight teenagers in the group were diagnosed with swine flu.
Reader views (11)
yea I think the schools should be shut down, because us kids don't want swine flu and if some one did get it they would be spreading it to the people in there homes, and if they didn't know they had it and was at school then they would spreading it even more.so yes it think schools should be shut down for another month.
- Shin, gloucester
i would like to know if this is going to happen school shuting where do i get the prob information from about it not sure if a brill idia thu kids are bored already
- Hazel, rochdale
I am 14 years old so ofcourse i would want an extra month off school, who wouldn't at my age? but apart from just the extra time i do think it will be a good decision to clsoe schools for an extra month.
Out in public in the park you arent going up to random strangers and being close to them constantly, but in school your constantly close to alot of people, and my school has been confirmed to have swine flu.
i dont want swine flu,, and i'm sure no one else does surely? so close the schools i say, if kids get it they can easily pass it on at home.
- Harvey, Plymouth, UK
Shut the schools... I could do with an extra month off.
29 people have died so far out of thousands who had the diease... we want to do something about the high number of deaths in this country ban cars. Ban smoking...
These things kill far more.
Best thing is to let it run it's course... get treatment if you get the disease and fight through it. People need to build up better immune systems. There is always some disease and if we hide away in doors then that isn't going to happen.
And Steve is a cretin... More third world inhabitants? Whatever!
- Adam, Cumbria
Why hasn't the government taken more steps to safeguard the British people as they are in China - why did they just let the virus run riot?
- Anna Strachan, Banbury, UK
We need to listen to the scientists in regard to this pandemic, who are the real experts on this issue. We need to close schools, to stop the spread of the virus as much as possible. Closing for a few months will allow for time for a vaccine to be implemented. As with SARS, it was not the actual virus which killed. A new virus can cause a 'cytokine storm' in the body which means an excess influx of immune cells fighting the infection, in turn causing fluid to build up in the area of infection; in this case, the lungs. This in turn can kill an otherwise healthy individual!
- Rebecca Campbell, London
Great shut the schools - oh yeah, what are the parents going to do - 12 weeks off work ???
Only a civil servant would come up with such a hair brain plan!
- Hansel, London
How are parents are going to look after the childeren in this extra month off?, most people get 25 days a year holiday or less, where do they expect the extra childcare to come from?, are they going to force employers to let parents have this month off, or are we expected to send our children to stay in dreamland where this idea comes from. You don't hear other European countries saying the samething.
- Notmoaning Again, Essex
Agree 100% to shut the schools; it makes travelling to work a lot easier and will avoid idiots like the woman this morning driving a 4x$ on the A3 who was distracted by a child in the passenger seat at the same time as typing a message in her blackberry!
- Derek, London, UK
Funny how Britain seems to be affected far more than the rest of Europe.Could it be down to the third world inhabitants we've acquired?
- Steve, London
Schools should def be shut. The govt should have quarantined people at the start in April and it wouldn't have become this mess.
- Emma, London
