Pupils go down with swine flu
7 August 2009, 09:02
By Mogomotsi Magome, Shenelle Dhanasur and Charles Baloyi
Pretoria schools have been hit by a wave of ordinary flu and the rapidly spreading swine flu with some of them closing down because of high absenteeism.
Hoerskool Wonderboom is the latest to be hit, with about 300 students infected.
A total of 11 cases of swine flu have been confirmed at the school.
Although the school has not closed, it has distributed hundreds of face masks to pupils and teachers.
The sick are at home.
Two cases of swine flu have also been confirmed at Laerskool Anton van Wouw, with Northridge Primary school also reporting that one of their pupils was recovering from the flu at home.
Sutherland High School is one of the schools that has closed down due to high absenteeism as pupils suffer from flu.
This comes after Hoerskool Uitsig also shut down for two days last week because of a high number of pupils being infected with flu.
On Tuesday about 80 pupils from the Modiselle Primary School in Ga-Rankuwa had to be taken to hospital after an outbreak of flu and suspected measles.
The pupils and some of their teachers were on Thursday immunised to ward off further infections, and it has been indicated that the rest of the learners will be immunised next month.
Pretoria Boys' High, St Alban's College and the University of Pretoria (UP) have also reported cases of swine flu, with a total of nine being confirmed at UP in July.
Hoerskool Wonderboom's deputy principal, Marie Farell, said the school was encouraging pupils to wash their hands on a regular basis and disinfectants have been bought for the school's bathrooms.
"Out of a school of 1 600 pupils, an estimated 300 have the flu. Parents have been told to keep their children at home if need be and the school will take alternative measures concerning tests," said Farell.
She said wearing a mask was a personal choice and most of the children who chose to wear one did so to avoid coughing or sneezing in others' faces.
John Robertson, principal of Northridge Primary School, said the pupil diagnosed with swine flu was recovering at home, but there was general illness among pupils.
The recent outbreak of flu has also disrupted schools' sport sessions and some games have had to be cancelled because of pupils falling sick.
The rugby match between Pretoria Boys' High School and Grey College Bloemfontein, scheduled for tomorrow at Boys' High has been called off.
More than 300 pupils from Grey College have been hit by flu.
A Boys' High spokesman confirmed that hockey matches had also been cancelled.
Grey College headmaster Johan Volsteedt said it was with great disappointment that the rugby match could not go ahead.
"We have between 200 and 300 people infected with flu. We felt it was not a good idea to travel to Pretoria under these circumstances," said Volsteedt.
Boys' High headmaster Bill Schroder said he regretted the decision.
Attempts to get information from the Gauteng Department of Education about the total number of confirmed swine flu cases at Gauteng schools were unsuccessful.
Pretoria schools have been hit by a wave of ordinary flu and the rapidly spreading swine flu with some of them closing down because of high absenteeism.
Hoerskool Wonderboom is the latest to be hit, with about 300 students infected.
A total of 11 cases of swine flu have been confirmed at the school.
Although the school has not closed, it has distributed hundreds of face masks to pupils and teachers.
The sick are at home.
Two cases of swine flu have also been confirmed at Laerskool Anton van Wouw, with Northridge Primary school also reporting that one of their pupils was recovering from the flu at home.
Sutherland High School is one of the schools that has closed down due to high absenteeism as pupils suffer from flu.
This comes after Hoerskool Uitsig also shut down for two days last week because of a high number of pupils being infected with flu.
On Tuesday about 80 pupils from the Modiselle Primary School in Ga-Rankuwa had to be taken to hospital after an outbreak of flu and suspected measles.
The pupils and some of their teachers were on Thursday immunised to ward off further infections, and it has been indicated that the rest of the learners will be immunised next month.
Pretoria Boys' High, St Alban's College and the University of Pretoria (UP) have also reported cases of swine flu, with a total of nine being confirmed at UP in July.
Hoerskool Wonderboom's deputy principal, Marie Farell, said the school was encouraging pupils to wash their hands on a regular basis and disinfectants have been bought for the school's bathrooms.
"Out of a school of 1 600 pupils, an estimated 300 have the flu. Parents have been told to keep their children at home if need be and the school will take alternative measures concerning tests," said Farell.
She said wearing a mask was a personal choice and most of the children who chose to wear one did so to avoid coughing or sneezing in others' faces.
John Robertson, principal of Northridge Primary School, said the pupil diagnosed with swine flu was recovering at home, but there was general illness among pupils.
The recent outbreak of flu has also disrupted schools' sport sessions and some games have had to be cancelled because of pupils falling sick.
The rugby match between Pretoria Boys' High School and Grey College Bloemfontein, scheduled for tomorrow at Boys' High has been called off.
More than 300 pupils from Grey College have been hit by flu.
A Boys' High spokesman confirmed that hockey matches had also been cancelled.
Grey College headmaster Johan Volsteedt said it was with great disappointment that the rugby match could not go ahead.
"We have between 200 and 300 people infected with flu. We felt it was not a good idea to travel to Pretoria under these circumstances," said Volsteedt.
Boys' High headmaster Bill Schroder said he regretted the decision.
Attempts to get information from the Gauteng Department of Education about the total number of confirmed swine flu cases at Gauteng schools were unsuccessful.
- This article was originally published on page 7 of The Star on August 07, 2009
Johannesburg
