Closing schools for a few swine flu cases little help

There's no point in closing schools in the fall unless the severity of swine flu cases increases, federal health officials said Wednesday.

It makes sense for local officials to close schools when there aren't enough teachers coming to work or many students are sick.

But closing schools in other circumstances could make things worse. For example, if a secondary school has a few cases of students home sick with the H1N1 virus, closing schools would move teens from a controlled atmosphere where they could learn about preventing the disease and release them to malls where they could potentially spread the virus to seniors, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer.

Having parents stay at home also disrupts workplaces, he said.

Experience from the southern hemisphere, where Argentina closed schools and Chile did not, showed the same levels of control, Butler-Jones noted.

 "The closing of schools, while theoretically may be helpful, as it turns out really doesn't," said Butler-Jones. "At most, it might buy you a few days, and you really can't keep schools closed for months on end."

The Public Health Agency of Canada released updated guidelines for schools and daycare centres on Wednesday that stress common-sense prevention like:

• Teaching children to cough into their sleeves.
• Wash hands properly.
• Clean surfaces that are touched often, like doorknobs and keyboards, twice a day.

Young children have less resistance to swine flu and the symptoms may not be obvious, Butler-Jones said. That's why the guidelines recommend parents and schools officials monitor for symptoms like fever. 

Wearing masks or gloves is not recommended because they can offer a false sense of security, he said.

The agency offered a second set of new guidelines for post-secondary institutions and boarding schools, which cover topics such as when to postpone travel.

Plans for second wave

The documents should be read in conjunction with provincial guidelines.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq reported that as of Tuesday, 67 Canadians who had swine flu have died, up one from last week's update. H1N1 activity remains moderate, she said.

It's "anybody's guess" how a second wave could unfold, Butler-Jones said. Based on past flu seasons and the severity of cases in the southern hemisphere, a typical pattern ranging from misery to more severe disease with a small percentage of young, healthy people falling severely sick is expected, he said.

"But it would suggest that, at least so far, if you had to predict, the fall will be more of the same – and in much larger numbers, given the small numbers of people relatively that were infected in the first round [in Canada] and how many of us are susceptible."

Pandemic vaccine plans remain on track, with a "fair bit" of production expected to be completed by the middle of November, Butler-Jones said. Seasonal flu tends to peak after Christmas, by which point some people will have received one dose of the pandemic vaccine.

If a second wave hits hard before all vaccine doses are distributed, measures like social distancing, staying home when sick, early treatment and the first dose of vaccine should help slow the spread, Butler-Jones said.

Although pandemic vaccine trials started first in Australia, its unlikley the Australians will have safety data much sooner than Canada, he said.