An unusually high number of students have reported influenza-like symptoms in St. Louis Park schools, prompting district officials to send students home and issue a letter to parents.

The district is tracking influenza-like illness as opposed to the H1N1 strain itself as symptoms are similar and "people are not going to know whether it's regular influenza or H1N1," said Tammy Reynolds, the district's director of special services.

She said the district has sent a "small number of students" home via parents as a result of flu-like symptoms but declined to give a number at a presentation to the St. Louis Park Board of Education Monday, Sept. 14.

"If this is an hour old, it's no longer up to date the way this is changing here," she said.

The school did reach a Minnesota Department of Health reporting threshold of three students in an elementary classroom reporting influenza-like illness Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Aquila Primary Center, said Sara Thompson, district communications coordinator.

The district has not reached another threshold that would prompt them to notify the health department when 5 percent of secondary students have reported influenza-like illness, Thompson said. However, she said school nurses have said the number of cases of students reporting illness is more similar to levels in January than September.

"What makes it stand out is these are not numbers we would typically see in the fall," Thompson said.

The district sent out a letter to parents Thursday, Sept. 10. In it, Reynolds stated that St. Louis Park Senior High School "has received reports that a small number of students are staying home from school" with influenza-like illness.

"We cannot confirm that these students are afflicted with the H1N1 strain of influenza and do not believe there is an imminent risk to other students, staff members or guests to the high school," the letter states. "Right now, H1N1 appears to be acting like seasonal influenza in terms of how sick it makes people and how it is spread."

Most people with H1N1 have recovered, but H1N1 "can be a serious disease," the letter states, noting the disease has hospitalized some victims and a several deaths have occurred from it. Furthermore, most Minnesota victims have been school-aged children. Individuals with underlying medical conditions, children under 5 years old, people over 65 years old and pregnant women are at particularly high risk of complications.

The letter asks people to keep children home if they have flu-like symptoms, including fever with cough or sore throat. Other symptoms may include a runny nose, headache, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea.

Parents are asked to keep children home from school at least 24 hours after the fever has dissipated without the use of fever reducers. The typical stay away from school would last 5-7 days.

The letter also includes common-sense type tips for avoiding the spread of influenza, including cleaning hands often with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or arm, and avoiding sharing drinks, foods, eating utensils and so forth.

More information is available at mdhflu.com or slpschools.org.

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