NEW YORK — Federal health officials said Monday they were rethinking their advice that schools consider closing for as long as two weeks because of swine flu, a recommendation that has already given an unscheduled vacation to 330,000 children in schools nationwide.
Shutting down schools is intended to keep infections from spreading between students and then out into the community, said Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But in the cases of swine flu in schools, the virus was apparently already circulating in the community, he said.
"We are looking at our school closure guidance,” Besser said in Atlanta. "We’re having very active discussions about whether it’s time to revise that.”
One option would be to "really push hard on the personal responsibility,” Besser said, encouraging parents and teachers to look out for sick kids and insist they stay home if they’re sick.
Besser cited the example of Seattle, where health officials have decided they won’t routinely recommend that schools close if there’s a suspected case of swine flu. Instead, they want students with flu-like symptoms to stay home for seven days.
by the associated press
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