Taiwan Today

Two weeks into the new semester, the number of elementary students contracting influenza A (H1N1) is on the increase, according to health authorities Sept. 10. Local-level clinics and hospitals have found the number of elementary-school-age H1N1 patients has climbed 10 to 20 percent compared to the summer vacation. Six of the 13 new patients hospitalized Sept. 10 are elementary school children. According to Kuo Hsu-sung, director of the Centers for Disease Control, this is a result of new cluster infections since the new semester started. He reminded schools to boost their disease prevention measures. Chiang Shih-chong, deputy secretary-general of Taiwan Medical Association, said that after school began, the number of high school and elementary school patients has clearly gone up. In the new semester, he has performed fast-screening on 40 to 50 children exhibiting flu-like symptoms, with 50 to 60 percent testing positive. Li Bing-ying, a doctor in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Department at National Taiwan University Hospital, cautioned that the total of patients in elementary school has risen about 10 percent since the new semester commenced. This is related to students getting together at school, and therefore passing on the disease, something which health authorities had predicted beforehand. No matter how careful schools are, they can only slow down the speed of contagion, but there is no way to contain it completely. It has been confirmed that 11 students at Lanyu Senior High School, located on the offshore island of Lanyu in Taitung County, have contracted H1N1. The school was shut down for five days starting Sept. 8. This is the first case in which a whole school has been closed down because of H1N1. Wang Chun-chuan, director of physical education for the Ministry of Education, pointed out Sept. 10 that the reason Lanyu Senior High School was closed is that 90 percent of its students live on campus. If the school had remained open it could have turned into a large-scale group infection. The school will resume classes Sept. 14. The MOE also said when junior highs and elementary schools shut down due to H1N1, they can use the eighth period, after school hours or weekends to make up missed classes. If they fail to cover all classes, they may move some to winter or summer vacations. Senior highs may also utilize holidays to catch up with course schedules if necessary. According to the Central Epidemic Command Center, of all the hospitalized H1N1 patients, 20 percent, or 34 cases, are children between the ages of 7 and 12, second in number only to the 26 percent, or 46 cases, who are between 25 to 49 years old. (JY-THN)