Swine flu outbreak leads to weeklong closure of Ankara school

Ankara Provincial Health Director Mustafa Aksoy announced on Tuesday evening that a student in the elementary division of the Bilkent Laboratory & International School had been diagnosed with swine flu but was in good health. The student, B.T., reportedly attended a summer school in Scotland a short time ago. The Health Ministry yesterday announced that the number of swine flu cases at the school had increased to five and closed the school for a week. Turan Buzgan, a deputy undersecretary at the Health Ministry, reported yesterday that three of those infected were students and two others were parents of students. He also added that tests are still being performed on four others -- a teacher and two students -- who are suspected to have been infected with the virus. Students are reportedly being treated at home. The school is being disinfected against the virus by teams from the Ankara Municipality and the Ankara Provincial Directorate of Agriculture.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Ankara Governor Kemal Önal said they do not plan to close any neighboring schools. Noting that health teams from the Ankara Provincial Health Directorate have started to go to the houses of 500 students attending the school along with officials from the school administration to carry out health screenings, the governor asked students and their parents not to panic. Stating that they will evaluate the situation after one week and decide whether to prolong the recess or not, he said some parents are also among those suspected to be carrying the virus. As for the question why B.T. had not been detected by thermal cameras which were installed by the Health Ministry at İstanbul Atatürk Airport in April to measure the temperatures of incoming international passengers as a precaution against swine flu, the governor said the student was possibly in the very early stages of the illness when he entered the country.

Abdullah Atar, vice rector of Bilkent University, said everything at the school is under the control of the Health Ministry.

Parents of some students came to the school yesterday to get information from the school administration about the situation. Hale Üstünel, the mother of a student at the school, said she had taken her daughter to school and that she was not diagnosed with swine flu. Gözde Acaroğlu, whose two sons attend Bilkent Laboratory & International School, told Today's Zaman that one of her sons was also among the students who went to Scotland as part of a school-organized trip. “He had a fever last week and I took him to the doctor. They tested him due to concerns over swine flu, but his tests came back negative for H1N1,” said Acaroğlu, who is also a doctor. Stating that the school is an international one and that both its students and teachers go abroad frequently, she said the school was already taking precautions against a possible swine flu outbreak. “The nurse at the school previously informed students about the flu. The school frequently sent booklets on swine flu to our house,” she noted. She also said that although the names of the students infected by the virus were not made public, she thinks they are students who attended a recent school trip to Cappadocia.

B.T. was reportedly infected by the virus in Scotland, and the virus was transmitted to other students during a school trip to Cappadocia. 

In the meantime, administrators of some primary schools in Ankara sent SMS messages to parents informing them of the symptoms of swine flu. “We kindly request that you not send students with high fever, coughing, rhinitis and diarrhea to school before they are taken to a doctor,” read the message.

Ministries on alert

Health Minister Recep Akdağ recently warned that 2010 is likely to be a year with many swine flu outbreaks and called on everyone to take precautionary measures against the epidemic without panicking. “Swine flu cases will sharply increase from December on in the northern hemisphere, where our country is located. The swine flu virus is sensitive to temperature change. Since the human body cannot recognize this virus, it replicates quickly in the body. This is what makes it very dangerous,” he said.

Akdağ also said the government plans to import 40 million doses of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine and that the first shipment is expected to arrive on Oct. 15. “In the first phase, we will vaccinate those below age 24 and those in at-risk groups. We will vaccinate close to 30 million free of charge. We will implement strict measures,” he said.

The Turkish Education Ministry has also been discussing possible responses to an outbreak of swine flu, which could hit Turkey hard in December. In the case of a severe outbreak that requires schools to be closed for longer periods of time, lessons would be broadcast over either television or radio channels. Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu recently said they are working in coordination with the Health Ministry on preventive measures against H1N1 and also on an action plan for if the virus spreads.

So far, 481 confirmed cases of swine flu have been reported in Turkey. Of these, 164 involved Turkish nationals while the rest were foreigners. None of the cases have been fatal.