Vancouver school remains open despite confirmed swine flu case

A Vancouver school will remain open despite a confirmed case of swine flu while a northern B.C. school announced it will close temporarily after more than 20 of its students with flu-like symptoms called in sick on Friday.

A student at Vancouver's Killarney Secondary School has been diagnosed with swine flu but is "recovering well at home," John Carsley, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, said Friday.

"We feel the risk to others at school is very low," Carsley said in a note sent home to parents. "Anyone exposed to this student would have become sick by Thursday, April 30. There is no need to close the school at this time."

However, Decker Lake Elementary School was closed early for the weekend over concerns swine flu might have spread to its community, said Ernie Mannering, information director of School District 91.

The elementary school is located outside of Burns Lake on Highway 16 northwest of Prince George. The Northern Health Authority was trying to determine if any of the more than 20 students who called in sick Friday have contracted the strain of influenza virus currently circulating in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere.

The virus has been identified as a new strain of the H1N1 subtype of type A influenza and is believed to have originated in Mexico.

'Unfortunately we may see some deaths. We have deaths from flu every year. It's important for us to recognize that.' — B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell

"When there's an absentee rate greater than 10 per cent, then they follow up and try and figure out what's going on," Mannering said

"In this case, they've discovered that students have normal flu-like symptoms — they're not suggesting that it has anything to do with the swine flu."

A school in Vernon, B.C., was closed on Thursday when a student tested positive for swine flu after returning from a vacation in Mexico. Beairsto Elementary School will remain closed throughout next week.

Highest number of cases in country

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health Services confirmed on Friday that eight new cases of swine flu have been diagnosed in B.C., bringing the total number of cases in the province to 19.

"The [people] have either recovered or are recovering. All of the cases have been relatively mild," the ministry said in a news release issued Friday afternoon.

Premier Gordon Campbell, who was speaking earlier Friday at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said the eight new cases include one child, one teenager, and two young adults.

Health authorities do expect more cases will be confirmed, Campbell said.

"I think it's important for everyone to recognize … that we expect and our experts expect that the number of cases will continue to rise," said Campbell.

According to the Health Services Ministry, B.C.'s confirmed swine flu cases include:

• 8 in the Fraser Health region.
• 5 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
• 4 on Vancouver Island.
• 1 in the Interior.
• 1 in northern B.C.

The premier said health authorities are prepared, but warned some deaths from the virus are possible, just like normal influenza, and people do have a legitimate reason to be concerned.

"Our public health system is both robust and resilient. The SARS outbreak in 2003 clearly showed that," he said, "Unfortunately we may see some deaths. We have deaths from flu every year. It's important for us to recognize that."

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall said people should not panic even if this flu strain is bumped up to global pandemic status.

"In the last century there were three pandemics … one in 1918 that was quite serious. In fact, 50 million died, but in '56 and '68, it was nothing worse than a bad flu year," he said.

More than 50 cases of swine flu have been confirmed across Canada so far.