City schools brace for early flu season

Flu season could begin a little earlier this year than in years past, a local health official told Charlottesville School Board members Thursday.

Dr. Lilian Peake, director of the Thomas Jefferson Health District, gave the board an update on the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, as well as on plans for handling an outbreak should it occur in the city’s schools.

Peake said that the H1N1 flu has been spreading over the summer, which is unusual compared with the behavior of seasonal flu. Peake said that the virus was also not infecting some who are typically expected to be susceptible to the illness.

“We’re not seeing it affect people at this point older than 65, even older than 50,” Peake said.

As of Friday there had been 7,511 hospitalizations and 477 deaths nationwide because of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, Peake said, countries are not seeing a higher death toll from this unique flu strain compared with seasonal flu.

Several H1N1 cases have been diagnosed in Virginia. In terms of whether local schools will see cases, division special education and student services director Beth Baptist said, “It is expected that we will.”

After entertaining questions from board members, Peake said that it is recommended that all students and teachers receive the H1N1 vaccine, which is expected to be distributed in October.

But, Peake said, “as long as the disease is not causing severe illness, the recommendation is not to close schools.”

Thursday’s flu update was given at the same time that the board was using its paperless meeting system for the first time, effectively replacing all physical documents with laptops and wireless connections. An efficiency review presented to the School Board in January recommended using the electronic system, to cut down on paper usage and eliminate the need for the hand delivery of agendas and other materials.

Votes can also be recorded electronically in real time.

The report estimated that after investing $30,000 in the system and purchasing laptops, the paperless method would cost $3,500 per year but the division would ultimately realize savings from reduced paper and expenses. School administrators said that the division paid $30,000 — which includes $10,000 in laptop purchases — to have a multi-year contract and for the installation of the system.

The board had considered using such a system before the efficiency report was presented. Members discussed the idea in October, but decided to hold off on any decisions until more research was done. The electronic system was approved in May.

At the beginning of Thursday’s session, Chairman Ned Michie said he was pleased with the direction the board was moving in. But, he quipped, “we’ve been training for the last hour and we’re undoubtedly going to mess it up.”