Spread of swine flu must be checked

The emergency meeting of Nairobi secondary school head teachers to deliberate on the spread of the H1N1 influenza commonly referred to as swine flu could not have come at a better time.

With over ten schools having reported cases of the flu in Nairobi, Central and Rift Valley provinces just weeks to the beginning of Kenya Certificate of Primary and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams, some serious thought need to go into how to stem the spread of the virus before it becomes a crisis.

The fact that the strain currently doing the rounds in Kenya is a mild one should not in any way encourage complacency.

That is why we commend the decision by the school heads to suspend visits and school exchange programmes. They are also toying with suspending the half-term break.

However, more needs to be done. The ministries of Public Health and Education should map out a strategy on dealing with this epidemic. Precautionary and contingency measures need to be clear to school administrators.

Ministry strategy

This is especially so because parents need to know that there is a plan in place to ensure their children are safe. The strategy should also ensure there are adequate numbers of medics and sufficient stocks of Tamiflu.

The solution to stemming the spread of the virus is ensuring thorough surveillance and timely treatment rather than through closing of schools.

Quite apart from the schools, every one needs to be on the alert and take the necessary precautions to ensure that the virus does not spread.

 

 

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