Five children of the prestigious Doon school have tested positive for the H1N1 virus. The school had swab samples of ten students to the Delhi based National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) last week. The report received from the NICD on Tuesday evening confirmed that five of them were positive.

According to the Dean Public Relations Piyush Malviya,” Of the five boys who tested positive, four had already been sent home and have already recovered; one boy is quarantined in the school and is now recovering.” He said the school has been working in close co-ordination with the health authorities of Uttarakhand and has adopted the required measures. A large capacity quarantine ward has been set up and additional medical staff has been recruited. Even boys with mild flu like symptoms have been quarantined.

“Parents were informed immediately after the first case was detected and are being informed of the latest developments. As a precautionary measure, the school has curtailed activities including canceling classes, assemblies, special events and other gatherings. Pupils will not leave the school for external events,” said Malviya.

He further stated,” The authorities do not recommend complete closure of the school. Only those who display severe symptoms (Category C under the Government of India’s swine flu guidelines and recommendations) are tested. As it can have some side effects in some patients, Tamiflu is only prescribed judiciously and as necessary.”

The Headmaster of the school Dr Peter Mclaughlin, commented,” From the very beginning we have worked with the state of Uttarakhand’s medical authorities and kept our parents informed of the situation.” He said that although initially only one test had proven positive, all boys with flu like symptoms were immediately quarantined and hence the school authorities were ready when positive and negative reports were received from Delhi.

... contd.