School Districts Report No Outbreaks

Thursday, January 10, 2013

A flu outbreak hasn’t hit Northwest Arkansas school districts, but officials are preparing in case it does happen.

School nurses want students to frequently wash their hands, and students who have flu symptoms are sent home from school faster than they might when not in flu season.

Deborah Keith, health services coordinator for the Bentonville School District, encourages parents and students who haven’t received a flu vaccine to seek one from their doctor or local health department.

The Bentonville district teamed up with the Benton County Health Department to provide in-school flu shots to students in the fall. The immunizations were free, Keith said.

"We're seeing an increase in absences, but it is not significant as of today."

Alan Wilbourn

Public Information Director for Fayetteville School District

Keith advised parents to be on the lookout for flu symptoms in their children and keep them home if those symptoms appear. Signs to look for include a high fever, body aches and pains, headache and a dry cough.

“Of course, the nurses are going, ‘Wash, wash, wash, and sing that birthday song,’” said Keith, referring to children washing their hands while humming or singing the “Happy Birthday” tune.

The Bentonville School District has not seen an outbreak of flu, Keith said. However, she noted students have been back from Christmas break for three days.

Juanita Casey, lead nurse for Rogers School District, also said there have been no widespread reports of flu in that district. As in Bentonville, she attributed that to school being back in session for just a short time.

"It seems like we saw more flu-like symptoms before the break," Casey said.

Elementary school nurses reported sending fevered children home before the break, but they may or may not have had flu, Casey said.

Fayetteville schools had a similar report.

“We’re seeing an increase in absences, but it is not significant as of today,” said Alan Wilbourn, public information director for Fayetteville School District.

Kathy Launder, nursing coordinator for the Springdale School District, said Wednesday she’d heard of two students with confirmed cases of the flu this week.

“We are seeing some cases, and it’s hard to know whether it’s the flu until it’s been diagnosed, but it’s starting to hit,” she said.

The Springdale district gave 9,103 flu shots earlier this school year, mostly to students but also to staff members, Launder said.

•••

Amye Buckley, Misty Gittings, Dave Perozek and Rose Ann Pearce contributed to this report.