Two cases of swine flu at HRHS

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON — With just over a week remaining in the school year, two Hampshire Regional High School students have been diagnosed with swine flu, Assistant Superintendent Anthony Ryan said Wednesday.

Parents of students at the high school began receiving phone calls from Superintendent Barbara Ripa last night and Ryan said the students who have confirmed cases, whom he did not identify, will stay home for the remainder of the school year. All other students, he said, should report to school as usual and take the necessary sanitary precautions.

“The state is pretty clear on how schools should respond if a case of the swine flu was to arise, and we are following every one of those conditions and procedures,” Ryan said.

The reported cases follow a similar situation at Hatfield Elementary School last week, when parents received phone calls warning that one student, who had been out for more than a week, may have contracted the illness.

“We have more kids out during the regular flu season that we have had over this,” Ryan said. “All of the guidelines are being followed, and people should use common sense.”

According to the state’s Department of Public Health’s Web site, as of June 11, there were 1,153 confirmed cases of the flu in Massachusetts, and 80 people in the state have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.

The site also warned that certain groups are at higher risk of complications from the flu, including children under the age of 2, adults over 65, pregnant women, and people with chronic health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

On Monday, the department announced that a 30-year-old Boston resident was the state’s first death linked to the illness.

The best way to avoid contracting the virus, the department’s Web site says, is to regularly wash your hands with soap and warm water or to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If you are sick, the department stresses, you should stay home from work, and a sick child should be kept home from school for seven days or 24 hours after symptoms resolve, whichever is longer.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.