It is the only confirmed case within the district to date, according to a letter sent home to parents Wednesday. The district also sent out a phone alert around 2 p.m., according to superintendent Grace Brindley.
Dr. Brindley said the infected student has not attended school since June 2 and will not be allowed to return without clearance from a physician.
Citing HIPAA regulations, Dr. Brindley wrote that the district cannot disclose which of the district's four schools the student attends. In a telephone interview Wednesday she maintained that she has been advised not to disclose the school.
The district's decision to not release the students age and school has caused some confusion and rumors throughout the Miller Place community.
Miller Place PTO president Maria Schuchmann said it was her understanding that the student attends classes in the high school. Christine Marino, whose son is a first-grader at Andrew Muller Primary School, said she had heard the victim was a student in her son's class. Ms. Marino also said she had heard there are two more possible cases of swine flu at North Country Road Middle School, but she said those cases have not yet been confirmed by the health department.
Dr. Brindley said the district has had a number of students out in recent weeks with flu-like symptoms, but that none of those students were diagnosed with swine influenza. The superintendent, who said she fielded a number of calls from concerned parents Wednesday, said the Suffolk County Department of Health has recommended that district schools remain open, and that she does not anticipate administrators having to close any of the schools in the near future.
"The incubation period for this disease is one to seven days, so if your child is not experiencing flu-like symptoms at this time, it is unlikely that he or she will become ill from exposure based on this child's illness," the letter reads.
According to a June 5 message on the Suffolk County Department of Health Web site, there have been 58 confirmed cases of swine flu in Suffolk County. After the first three reported cases all involved students at a Deer Park elementary school, the district closed the school for an entire week.
While the recent outbreak of swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, has been reported in all 50 states, there has been a particularly large number of reports in New York City. According to city health officials, 12 residents of the five boroughs have died of swine flu, the most of any city in the nation. As of June 5, there had been 858 reported cases of swine flu in New York State, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with the virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC.
Washing hands frequently, covering your mouth when you cough and sterilizing telephones and shared office equipment are all preventive measures for avoiding infection, according to health officials.
Dr. Brindley said the district had already begun taking precautions, including more detailed cleanings of the schools, for more than a month. She said the district does not need to take any extra steps following the confirmed case.
Miller Place Board of Education president Ann O'Brien said she's not overly surprised that a case of swine flu has been confirmed in the district because so many cases have been reported throughout Suffolk County.
"I felt like it was just a matter of time," Ms. O'Brien said.
gparpan@northshoresun.com