Bangalore schools gear up to tackle flu

Though schools are yet to receive any official circular from boards like CBSE or ICSE about issuing guidelines regarding H1N1, most institutions are being proactive in hosting talks and also screening students to eliminate any possible risk.

“The principal has sent a circular to all parents to create awareness about measures to follow with regards to swine flu,” said an official at Bethany High School.
Schools, especially boardings, are ensuring that they have a doctor on call or a nurse available on the campus to deal with health emergencies.

“We have a doctor on call and an arrangement with a nearby school where students can be rushed to in case of any health emergency,” said M Srinivasan, principal, Gear Innovative School.

At government schools, teachers have been instructed to take unwell children to doctors if necessary or send them home. “We have sent circulars about the swine flu guidelines to all government and aided schools. Parents have also been told to not send children to school if they show any symptoms of swine flu,” said TC Chandriah, deputy director public instructions, Bangalore North.

Meanwhile, though Bethany High School doesn’t have a nurse or doctor on campus, it relies on a nearby Apollo clinic for any emergency. Treamis World School has a 26-bed hospital on campus to take care of the sick.

All Delhi Public Schools have doctors on campus and sick rooms where children can be quarantined till further help arrives. At Indus International School, the resident doctor was sent for training at Manipal Hospital to understand symptoms and preventive measures to be implemented on campus.

Most schools are also attempting to promote good hygiene to ensure viral infections are kept in check. “We ensure all toilets are cleaned and children wash hands often in school,” said Padma Viswanathan, principal, Venkat International School.

At Treamis, there have been five to 10 children being absent in the lower classes and toddler group because of fever and viral infections. “Apart from swine flu, we also talked to students about chikungunya and dengue symptoms and prevention,” said Dakshayini Kanna, Treamis World School. Preet B Aarons, relationship manager, Inventure Academy said that many children have even been suffering from chicken pox.

According to medical experts this is a difficult season as viral infections are very common. “We are overwhelmed with the number of viral infection cases we are dealing with daily. Nearly 100 patients come in everyday with such symptoms as cough, cold and fever. Parents are panicking and bringing in children even if they so much as sneeze,” said Dr Jagadish Chinnappa, head of the department of paediatrics, Manipal Hospital.

He asserts that parents should try not to panic. “Only if the child appears  very sick and has very high fever, I would recommend getting a test done for swine flu,” Dr Jagadish said.

Dr Asha Benakappa, paediatrician said, “If children have high fever which keeps fluctuating through the day and in between they are active then it is just a simple viral infection. However, if the child has high fever continuously, then tests need to be done. There are so many infections going around which often have similar symptoms. So care must be taken.”