Riverhead student had swine flu
County confirms H1N1 case, just as summer break starts
0 comments below
Riverhead students did not make it through the spring swine flu scare unscathed after all.
The virus made a brief appearance in the Riverhead School District in June, officials said last week, just as classes were letting out for summer break.
Superintendent Diane Scricca said the district received a phone call last Tuesday from the Suffolk County health department's public health division saying there was a confirmed case of the H1N1 influenza, or swine flu.
She said the student is now well and symptom-free, and had never returned to school after first feeling flu symptoms June 10.
Last Friday marked the end of the year for all Riverhead students, officials said.
Dr. Scricca would not disclose the student's name or school, citing privacy issues. But district officials did post a small note about the diagnosis on its Web site last week.
Health department spokesperson Grace McGovern said the delay between the onset of symptoms and the time the school district was notified is normal.
"In the time it takes for us to get it confirmed, the person is usually better," she said. The health department has tests done in a lab outside Albany, she said.
When swine flu was first reported earlier this year, it was considered a hybrid of several different types of flu. Because officials didn't know what to expect from the virus, the health department was at first issuing press releases for each confirmed case, Ms. McGovern said.
Since then, the county and others have dropped the term "swine flu" and started calling the virus by its scientific name, H1N1 influenza, and the county has stopped issuing a release for every case diagnosed, Ms. McGovern said. The county health department's Web site still publishes statistics on the number of cases countywide and the department has issued press releases for four H1N1-related deaths, Ms. McGovern said. But in each of those cases, the victim also had other medical problems.
She said the regular flu, which doesn't receive the same media coverage, results in about 36,000 deaths per year in the United States, while H1N1-related deaths worldwide total 313 this year.
tgannon@timesreview.com
The Riverhead News-Review is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The Riverhead News-Review does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Riverhead News-Review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Service and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
0 comments found
