İstanbul Governor Muammer Güler told the Anatolia news agency yesterday that 16 students from 10 schools in the province have been diagnosed with H1N1, commonly known as swine flu.
The number had jumped overnight, from six confirmed cases of swine flu on Tuesday. Several students who have been homebound after coming down with flu-like symptoms were diagnosed with swine flu following the results of laboratory analysis. “The students are convalescing well. Precautions have been taken for those who have had physical contact with the children,” Güler reported.
The governor on Tuesday stated that at that moment he did not see the need for a temporary closure of schools as a pre-emptive measure to halt the spread of the virus in the city.
The number of schools in which students with the H1N1 virus have been detected has increased to 11, yet since only one or two cases have been diagnosed in each school the authorities have not yet decided to close those schools.
Bilkent Lab School reopens after swine flu scare
Meanwhile, Bilkent Laboratory & International School, which was closed last Wednesday after an outbreak of swine flu was detected among elementary school students, opened its doors again to students yesterday after a weeklong recess.
James Swetz, the school's director general, stated that the students who were infected by the virus had recovered after receiving treatment at a local hospital. The director also cautioned that students suffering from colds or the flu should stay at home and consult with their doctors to decide when to return to school.
 In Diyarbakır, swine flu has been detected in 23 people, 17 of whom are students. |
The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that 32 students attending the Bilkent Laboratory & International School were infected by the H1N1 virus. Following the ministry's announcement, the school was closed and the students who contracted swine flu were hospitalized.
Responding to a reporter's question on precautions taken at the school, Swetz said during the week when the school was closed they worked on informing parents about swine flu and methods to protect against the H1N1 virus by sending out messages, adding: “In an emergency, we have a group of doctors and nurses always ready to intervene. We have explained the symptoms of swine flu to parents to help them recognize the flu earlier and keep their students at home.” He also underlined that they have made efforts to prevent rumors from spreading by keeping parents fully in the loop on the school's response to swine flu.
Lessons on TV in Diyarbakır
A local TV channel has started to air elementary school courses in Diyarbakır, where all schools have been closed to prevent the spread of H1N1 within the city. Teachers give the lessons in live broadcasts which are prepared by the Education Ministry's general directorate of education technologies. The broadcast is aired six hours a day, seven days a week.
In Diyarbakır, swine flu has been detected in 23 people, 17 of whom are students, the Diyarbakır Governor's Office announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The number of swine flu cases in Diyarbakır, which was originally detected in seven people, has increased to 23; 17 of them are students and the others are adults, the statement said. These 23 individuals are generally healthy and are receiving treatment at home.
Testing of swine flu vaccines to take 2 weeks
A total of 490,000 swine flu vaccines, which were imported from Italy by the Health Ministry, are to be examined starting on Wednesday, a process that is reported will take nearly two weeks. The tests are being carried out in six laboratories connected to the Refik Saydam Health Center. After the two-week-long analysis, if the results are found appropriate by ministry officials, the vaccines will be start to be allocated to cities across the country.
Mustafa Ertek, the head of the health center, announced that 35 examples of the 490,000 vaccines had been randomly selected and sent to the center's Biological Control and Research Laboratory to be analyzed. Ertek noted that if the results of the analyses are positive, the vaccines will be sent around the country for inoculations.
Benzer Haberler 
National
