7 kids contract H1N1, Karnataka school shut for a week

VIJAYAPUR: A school in Karnataka's Vijayapur decided to shut the institution for a week as a precautionary measure after seven students contracted the H1N1 virus. "It is confirmed that seven students tested positive for swine flu. Six students are being treated in BLDE Hospital and one more was shifted to Bidar after his parents requested for it," said Sainik School principal Col R Balaji. "All these students underwent medical tests after they complained of cough and fever. Acting on the advice of district hospital surgeon, they were admitted. All of them are recovering," he said. Asking parents not to panic, Balaji said the situation is now under control. "Starting from Monday, the school will remain closed for a week. Holiday notice to parents of all 500 students was sent on Sunday. Students who can't go back home will get special healthcare facilities here. Further decisions will be taken after we review the situation next week," he added. "After tests confirmed H1N1 virus in students, we suggested the authorities to shut the school for 15 days," district surgeon Dr R M Sajjan said. "All the six students admitted here are now out of danger and are recovering well," said Dr Vijaykumar Kalyanappagol, BLDE Medical College Hospital "One of the students fell ill on February 24. Without wasting time, we sent his throat sample for tests along with the samples of six other students. We got the reports on March 1st which confirmed that seven students had contracted H1N1," said district surveillance officer Dr Shankar Mailari. It is suspected that the virus spread after students from other states arrived here for an entrance test last week. -TOI