The Galveston County Daily News

Although swine flu is widespread in Galveston County, schools aren’t seeing alarming numbers of students out sick from the virus, county health officials said.

Parents have complained schools aren’t disclosing the numbers of students out sick with swine flu, but health district and school district officials say there’s no cause for alarm.

Schools are treating the swine flu no differently than the seasonal flu, based on recommendations from the Texas Education Agency. The new recommendations are a reversal from last semester, when the state recommended school closures when students were infected with the H1N1 virus.

Last semester, more than 850 schools closed in Texas because of swine flu, The Associated Press reported. This semester, 103 schools have closed because of flu outbreaks.

The change reflects new guidelines about H1N1 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last semester, the federal agency recommended that districts close schools if one student was confirmed to have swine flu. Now, the agency recommends that buildings be closed only in drastic cases. Students with swine flu, or flu-like symptoms, may return to school 24 hours after they are fever free without fever-reducing medication.

The Texas Education Agency told school superintendents in an August memo that swine flu has “more moderate symptoms than first suspected and school closures are no longer the preferred method of limiting transmission.”

One person in Galveston County has died of swine flu. No Galveston County schools have closed because of flu outbreaks.

All across the county, teachers and school nurses are promoting regular hand-washing and proper coughing and sneezing etiquette to reduce the chance that a virus would spread throughout campuses. Children are urged to cover their noses and mouths when coughing and sneezing. Posters in classrooms throughout Galveston County explain proper techniques for hand-washing.