Last week I was contacted by various media outlets for a comment on the outbreak of swine flu in Calasanctius College, Oranmore.  I was on the train home from Dublin at the time. Initially I got quite a shock as my own boy, Niall, is in Junior Cert in the school and not having been home the night before, I was unaware of the note from the school confirming that there were 6 confirmed cases of swine flu.

My first thought naturally was how is Niall. I then proceeded to contact the school to learn that they were working closely with the the public health department of the HSE and were fully compliant with all procedures. They were asking all kids that were unwell to stay at home for 7 days. The school would remain open while it could function as an educational establishment from a pupil and teacher point of view.

A few days have since lapsed and a number of parents have contacted me since the weekend suspecting that there are far more cases of swine flu than reported. One parent told me her son had all the symptoms, sudden onset and a high temperature, having had a temp of 103 degrees for three- four days before it broke. He wasn’t one of the confirmed cases. She questioned why wasn’t the HSE swabbing the unwell kids. Her suspicion was that the HSE was playing down the prevalence of swine flu and keeping the numbers artifically low so as not to cause panic.

I put this question this morning to Dr. Diarmuid O’Donovan (always very helpful) from the public dept. of the HSE.  He confirmed they were not swabbing all the unwell kids. The labs wouldn’t be able to handle it. His point was given that this is not the typical common flu season (Oct/ Nov.), they could presume that anyone with the flu symptoms now would be classified as swine flu  . . .

While it is good to know that to date all children with swine flu in Oranmore are being managed to wellness at home, parents are still worried at having to manage this ‘new flu’ at home, largely alone. They are not being encouraged to go to the doctor’s surgery and the HSE is not in a position to visit them at home. I do believe parents and children need more reassurance that they are managing ok at home.

One mother told me although her son’s temperature has broken he is still very weak. She wondered could he be reinfected if he went back to school with a low immune system. Dr. Diarmuid O’Donovan said they do not yet know if a person who has had the swine flu is immune in the future.  New territory for everyone it seems.