A swine flu scare at the Chaguanas North Secondary School yesterday, forced the early dismissal of classes.
Guardian Media was reliably informed that at about 10.30 am the school’s principal was forced to dismiss classes, as a suspected swine flu case on the school’s compound was brought to the attention of the principal’s office.
Sources at the Ministry of Education confirmed the incident and said that in keeping with health and safety protocols the principal notified the Chief Medical Officer and the County Medical Office where a report was lodged.
Immediately, a team of health officials was dispatched to the school where an initial sanitisation process of spraying was done.
The team is expected to return to the school on Tuesday to carry out further extensive sanitisation works.
The ministry’s source also said that swine flu vaccinations will be offered on Tuesday at the school for staff and pupils.
Staffers are also expected to be briefed by members of the ministry’s Student Support Services on the situation.
Just last week, Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram confirmed that there have been three confirmed deaths from the H1N1 (Swine Flu) since the start of the flu season in October.
But he said this was in keeping with the norm, noting that seven people died from the virus last year.
Parasram said there had also been a significant decrease in the number of influenza cases compared with previous years.
Seeking to appease public fear of an outbreak, he assured, “There is no epidemic of H1N1 in the country or the region.”
He added that the World Health Organisation would state that and it has not sent out any information about such an occurrence.
The CMO reminded the population that H1N1 has been in Trinidad since 2009 and also shared the statistics from the endemic channel which is a compilation of data for the previous five years.
According to the data, from 2014 to 2018, the number of influenza cases were 4,400; 4,600; 5,900; 6,500 and 7,100. He said, “For this year so far there have only been 2077 cases. It represents a 57 per cent decrease from the endemic channel which is an average for the past five years previously.”
Dr Parasram said the increase in vaccines administered to the public could account for the decrease. Prior to 2016, T&T was receiving 10,000 to 12,000 vaccines a year, this has now increased to up to 100,000 vaccines.
He had confirmed that the 100,000 vaccines arrived in the country last week Monday and would have been available in health centres by the end of last week.
The Ministry of Health is also expected to supply the private sector with a portion of vaccinations free of charge.
While the influenzas, H1N1 and H3N2, have similar symptoms of the common flu, Dr Parasram said the symptoms are more severe.
“What we are seeing is the common cold mingled with the influenza virus, people need to understand that the common cold is very similar, fever, sore throat, body pains. The severity of influenza is usually much greater.”
He stressed that people with extreme stomach pains, nausea, unable to eat or high fever for a few days, should seek immediate medical attention. Generally, he said, high-risk persons—children between six months to five years, pregnant women, persons over the age of 65, persons with chronic illnesses and respiratory illnesses, will be given priority for the vaccines.
“Make sure you get your vaccines as early as possible, especially the high-risk groups,” encouraged Dr Parasram.
He assured that the public health sector has the capacity, staff and resources to deal with the number of persons seeking treatment thus far.
In order to guard against the spread of the disease, he encouraged persons to wash their hands properly and regularly, cover their noses and mouth when they cough or sneeze and stay away from school or work if they are sick.