Swine Flu Has Come to Keene

Written by Stephanie Machado Monday, 05 October 2009 11:02

H1N1 Swine Flu has come to Keene. There are a total of 15 possible cases in the Keene ISD District. Only one person in the High School is a confirmed case of carrying H1N1 Flu.

Last year, we were introduced to the silent, but deadly flu virus that has taken the world by storm. Infecting humans,
with no specific target as to: gender, race, or age. At first called “swine flu," it has a more scientific name now “H1N1” Flu.

As students we watch stories on the news and it’s scary. So far in the Dallas community it is reported six deaths due to the swine influenza. During the 2009 TAKS time earlier this year, it was at Cleburne High School. We were wondering how close it’s going to get to Keene. Most of the Smith High students have friends of the family who have it, or maybe people at their job, or people at parent’s jobs are getting it; either way it’s getting too close to home.

So, where’s the vaccine to take down this terminator you ask? Well, reporters for the local news stations say only half of the needed vaccines for Texas could make it for right now, the rest will be available at the end of October. Right now though the vaccine provided, which is in a nasal spray form, is only available to “pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 Flu because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.” Centers of Disease Control.  Dallas county officials say it’s only a drop in the bucket of what is really needed.

What is type A and type B H1N1 Flu? Nurse Kilgore at the Keene ISD District said that, "most students get checked at Cooks Hospital. When the doctor thinks that they could have H1N1 Flu, they call it type A. When the patient is showing critical signs they go into further testing for type B." There are 14 type A cases of H1N1 Flu, and only one is type B. CDC reccomends that you get tested, and immunized. Because, "CDC is concerned that the new H1N1 flu virus could result in a particularly severe 2009-2010 flu season."If you want to find out more just google CDC, or just watch the news.

"The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus." CDC

 
Don’t freak out yet, there is something you can do to help lower your personal risk of getting this detrimental virus.

You can:

     1.  Wash your hands constantly before/after eating. And just wash your hands after class. And after using soap and water finish it off with some sanitizer.

     2.  Take showers and scrub everywhere, even behind your ears.

     3.  Sleep good! And drink plenty of fluids especially orange juice! Don’t forget water!

     4.  DON’T second sip after anybody no matter how CLOSE you are to that person.

Not only are you doing your part more than ever to keep clean, so is your school. Everyday the school is being scrubbed for your safety. Keene ISD is doing everything in its power right now to keep you healthy and virus free. Don’t worry though if you do happen to catch it, just treat it like a normal flu take a lot of rest, and drink lots of fluids and come back to see us!