# 3179
As might be expected, the response to the novel A/H1N1 virus now sweeping the globe varies from place to place.
Here in the United States, where we’ve seen mostly a mild illness, the decision has been made by the CDC to no longer recommend that schools close due to the virus. Part of the reasoning here is that the virus is already present in most communities.
In Hong Kong, where the virus has yet to infiltrate their population, a complete shutdown of their school system is planned if H1N1 cases begin to appear.
The appearance of an easily transmissible - yet rarely fatal virus - gives the world an opportunity to try a great many different intervention methods, and should give us new insight on which ones are practical and effective, and which ones weren’t.
Valuable lessons to be learned now, before a deadlier virus threatens the world sometime in the future.
This from the Hong Kong Standard.
School's out if swine flu hits
Patsy Moy
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
All primary schools, kindergartens and nurseries will be closed for 14 days if there is a local case of human swine flu not attributed to travel.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam- kuen backed the move as the mainland Health Ministry reported a suspected human swine flu (H1N1) case in Shandong province - a student attending university in Canada.
The 19-year-old, who arrived in Beijing on an Air Canada flight on Friday, developed flu-like symptoms at the weekend. On Monday, he took a train to Jinan, capital of Shandong, where he was placed under quarantine at the city's Infectious Diseases Hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.
The authorities are trying to track down his co-passengers.
Meanwhile, another student, surnamed Bao, the mainland's first confirmed swine flu victim is in a Chengdu hospital. The 30-year-old, who traveled from the United States via Tokyo and Beijing, arrived in Chengdu on Saturday.
Announcing new guidelines yesterday, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok urged students overseas to delay their return for the summer holidays if they have flu symptoms.
Those who insist on returning should minimize social activities and wear masks, he added, while expressing particular concern about students returning from the United States and Canada.
Hong Kong is "unlikely to be spared from local infection" as several countries already have cases and experience in the United States indicates children are more susceptible to the virus. Chow said Hong Kong will continue to adopt a "containment" policy but will switch to one of "mitigation" should there be a community outbreak.
"As local transmission becomes significant, isolation and quarantine will no longer be practical. Public health may be switched from hand hygiene and use of masks to social distancing - such as the closure of schools, workplace contingency and the cancellation of mass gatherings," he said.
"The choice of public health measures will depend on the severity of the local epidemic. If it is severe, more aggressive measures are warranted."
