By Mary Drier (Contact / Staff Bio)
October 28, 2009 - 10:48 a.m. EST

TUSCOLA COUNTY — Even though school districts are reporting absences from illnesses, the H1N1 flu is not necessarily the culprit.

“There are a lot of colds and bronchitis going around,” said Tuscola County Health Department Nursing Administrator Ann Hepfer, R.N.B.S. “There are some cases with flu-like symptoms.

“The absences are not abnormally high.”

According to Hepfer, in Tuscola County there has only been one documented case of H1N1 in a child.

However, not every person who has flu-like systems is tested for the type of flu it is.

“There are specific guidelines of when testing is done,” said Hepfer. “There is testing when someone is extremely ill, death, when there is a cluster, or an outbreak in an area.

“The exact number of H1N1 (cases) may never be known.”

While several students throughout the area are out sick, it doesn’t seem there are any schools getting ready to close.

“Schools have good policies and procedures in place of when to dismiss,” she noted.

If a school does close because of illnesses, especially the H1N1 flu, children should be kept home. They should not go “visiting” during that time because they could get infected and bring it back with them when classes start again.

Also, for those who are ill, they should not return to work or school until 24 hours after the fever has broke.

“That doesn’t mean coming down with Tylenol... the fever has to break,” explained Hepfer.

The best prevention is staying away from people who are ill, washing hands frequently, and getting both the seasonal and H1N1 flu shots when they are available.

There will be a flu-shot clinic Wednesday (today) at the 9 a.m. -6:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall 903 Ryan Rd., Caro, for priority groups, which are: pregnant women, persons who live with or provide care for infants under age 6 months (e.g., parents, siblings, and daycare providers), health-care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material, children aged 6 months - 4 years, and children and adolescents aged 5 -18 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications

Children and healthy young adults between the ages of 2-24, with no chronic illnesses such as asthma, would be eligible for the H1N1 flu mist nasal spray.

The spray is the live-attenuated vaccine as compared to the inactivated vaccine that most of the above group would be receiving.

Healthy children and young adults between 2-24 years of age who do not want the nasal spray will need to wait until adequate supplies of injectable inactivated vaccine are available.

The department has about 800 flu-mist nasal spray doses available, and about 300 vaccine doses. More will be available later.

According to Hepfer, seasonal and the novel H1N1 flu can be treated with antiviral drugs, and they can make the illness milder and make you feel better faster.

They may also prevent serious flu complications.

For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started within the first two days of symptoms, which include: fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose muscle aches, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting.

For more information and updates on vaccination clinics for the H1N1 and seasonal flu, contact Tuscola County Health Department at (989) 673-8114 or visit the Web site at www.tchd.us.

Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.