10/7/2009
GARY DEMUTH
Nearly 10 percent of the student body at Ell-Saline Junior-Senior High School stayed home with flu-like symptoms Wednesday, prompting a concerned call from the Salina-Saline County Health Department.
The call was not to recommend the school cancel classes, as Ness City officials did Wednesday and today due to a 30 percent absentee rate caused by similar illnesses.
But there was concern that such a high number of absences at Ell-Saline — about 45 out of 470 students — were being caused by the flu and in part by H1N1, otherwise known as swine flu.
“Nationally, when they test for flu now, they assume it’s H1N1,” said Del Myers, director of health education at the Salina-Saline County Health Department. “We had heard (Ell-Saline) had high absences and called to see if they were doing all right.”
After speaking with school officials, the health department was satisfied Ell-Saline was doing all it could to keep the school staffed, the students healthy and the building clean and sanitized.
“We assured them the school could function, and they seemed very satisfied with what we were doing,” said Adam McDaniel, Ell-Saline Junior-Senior High School principal. “We’ve talked to our maintenance staff about the importance of increasing cleanliness and to step up sanitizing procedures. We’re letting parents know we’re doing all we can.”


Read the rest of this story in Thursday's Salina Journal.