Officials reported more cases yesterday after a student in the elementary division of the Bilkent Laboratory & International School was diagnosed with swine flu. The Ankara governor announced yesterday that ten of those infected were students and the rest were family members, a doctor and a teacher at the same school. The school will be closed for one week and is being disinfected against the virus by teams from the Ankara Municipality and the Ankara Provincial Directorate of Agriculture. Ankara Governor Kemal Önal yesterday announced that 10 more cases of the virus had been discovered, and tests are still being performed on many more suspected cases.
Responding to questions from reporters in Ankara, Önal pointed out that health teams from the Ankara Provincial Health Directorate have been going to the houses of 500 students attending the school along with officials from the school administration to carry out health screenings and are reporting those suspected to be carrying the virus. He said officials had visited the houses of 59 students so far and carried out health checks. Most of the tests have not yet been concluded. As for the question of whether they plan to extend the closure, Önal said it is too early to decide and that they will release a statement a few days before the end of the closure.
The Ankara Provincial Health Directorate also issued a statement yesterday stressing that the directorate is looking into the issue and noting that those infected are being kept in isolation in their houses.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu also announced yesterday that the Education Ministry has 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. Noting that they will inform students and their parents about preventive measures against H1N1, Çubukçu said they are working in coordination with the Health Ministry on these measures 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.
