Swine flu concerns close Mountain View autism program
Mark Probert
Swine flu concerns close Mountain View autism program
By Diana Samuels
Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 11/05/2009 11:48:41 PM PST
Updated: 11/05/2009 11:48:42 PM PST
A program for autistic preschoolers at Slater Elementary School in
Mountain View was scheduled for closure today after several potential
cases of H1N1 flu were reported among staff members and students.
Six instructional assistants and three students in the Mountain View-
Whisman School District's Slater Autism Program missed school
Wednesday because of flu-like symptoms, said Kathi Lilga, executive
assistant to the superintendent.
"The kids don't attend on Thursday, so we felt like closing it down
one more day (Friday) would just give us extra time to really
sanitize," Lilga said. About 40 students and 40 adults are involved in
the classes, she added.
The Santa Clara County health department didn't recommend closing the
program, Lilga said, but the district decided it would be safer to do
so to prevent the flu from spreading further. The department has asked
districts to keep it informed of any classes or schools where more
than approximately 20 percent of students and staff may be sick, Lilga
said.
The district is keeping a close eye on other programs at the Slater
campus, such as a Head Start preschool, Lilga said, but so far isn't
seeing any extra absences.
Throughout the district, though, some hot spots have popped up. A
kindergarten class at Benjamin Bubb Elementary School had nine out of
20 students absent earlier this week, Lilga said. In those cases,
staff wiped down classroom surfaces and sent students home with
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information about how to prevent the spread of flu.
Meanwhile, residents across the Peninsula are waiting for swine flu
vaccines. Santa Clara County announced on Oct. 29 it had received a
shipment of 26,000 dosages of the vaccine, and San Mateo County
received about 17,000 dosages last week, according to county health
department Web sites. Dosages in both counties are being distributed
to health care providers for high-risk patients, and Santa Clara
County is hosting a vaccination clinic at the county fairgrounds on
Saturday.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported that as of
Nov. 4, 512 people in the county have been hospitalized with swine flu
complications, and 15 have died since May.
In San Mateo County, 343 cases of swine flu have been confirmed, 71
people have been hospitalized and eight have died, according to the
San Mateo County Health System.