Flu prevention efforts appear to be paying off so far as school districts nationwide grapple with how to contain the spread of the H1N1 virus.
Health officials with the schools are monitoring H1N1, also known as the swine-flu closely by tracking the number of students and staffers who call in sick with flu-like symptoms. When a particular school's absence rate doubles and kids are calling in absent with the flu, the Tri-County Health Department takes more notice in order to track the possible spread of the virus.
Districts also are sending out letters and pre-recorded robo calls to parents with information about the virus and hygiene tips.
Between Adams 12 Five Star Schools, School District 27J and Adams County School District 14, only two schools have gone above the 10 percent threshold this fall - an elementary school in Thornton and another in Commerce City.
"We're not seeing anything huge right now," said Adams 14 public information officer John Albright. "Nothing that would cause us to be alarmed about H1N1 or the flu in general."
No schools in School District 27J have gone above 10 percent yet this year, said Janice Weinholdt , one of four registered nurses in the district.
"Our highest percentile has been 4.7 percent of the total school population at one particular school," Weinholdt said. "We didn't really know what to expect coming in, but really we haven't been too bad."
Some of the early success battling H1N1, which has been confirmed at a number of schools this year, is due to the rigorous effort to prevent it, said Pat Hamilton, director of safe and secure environments at Adams 12. Students and staffers are being inundated with messages about hand-washing practices and sneeze etiquette and those suffering from the flu are urged to stay at home until they're sure the illness has passed for good.
But until students and staffers get vaccinated at upcoming clinics, it's still somewhat difficult to know how the swine flu will affect the business of running a school system, Hamilton said.
"There's no real way to know," Hamilton said. "I hope the vaccinations will slow everything down. I think that's what everyone hopes for."
An absentee rate of 10 percent or more is when schools begin to take more notice. At 20 percent, Adams 12 officials will look at heightened prevention efforts, such as canceling field trips, Hamilton said.
Tri-County Health Department will handle vaccination clinics this fall for local schools, likely in November, said Dr. Richard Vogt, executive director of the department. Children under the age of 10 are encouraged to get two separate vaccinations, which are free of charge, to prevent against the H1N1 virus, he said.