FW Schools Prepare for Round 2 of Swine Flu

As Fort Worth parents and students look ahead to the 2009-10 school year, it's hard to forget the swine flu scare from last spring that prompted the district to close alll campuses, affecting 80,000 students and their parents.

As class reconvenes for the fall semester, administrators said there are still a lot of unknowns regarding the H1N1 swine flu.

"We don't know what the infection rate will be. We don't know how widespread it will be. We don't know what we'll see," said Clint Bond, spokesperson, Fort Worth Independent School District.

For now, the efforts will be focused on prevention. Students will be encouraged to wash their hands, and antibacterial solution will be in most of the classrooms.

Healthcare experts said they do not anticipate widespread closures. Instead, a child with a confirmed case of swine flu would be asked to stay home for 5 to 7 days. 

But with an illness that is still new and still subject to mutation, that advice could very well change.

"This is still a novel virus. This is still new to us, so monitoring is key," said Ann Salyer-Caldwell, associate director, Tarrant County Public Health Department.

An estimated 200 million swine flu vaccinations are expected to be ready late this year.

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