A FURTHER 16 students were yesterday sent home from two Irish language colleges in west Donegal with suspected human swine flu.
This follows the temporary closure of a third college in the Donegal Gaeltacht at the weekend with 11 confirmed cases of the virus.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is monitoring the situation at the two colleges, which remain open, and the results of tests for the H1N1 virus are expected today.
In a statement the HSE said “local public health doctors are working closely with the schools in the management of these cases, all of which have been mild to moderate illnesses”.
Five students staying in the same house at Coláiste Bhríde Rannafast were initially sent home after displaying flu-like symptoms and it was decided to send the remaining nine students in the house home to prevent the spread of the virus. Irish language courses finish at the college on Sunday.
Yesterday afternoon two students were sent home from another school, Coláiste Machaire Rabhartaigh, near Gortahork, which has two weeks of classes still to run.
The latest incidents follow the temporary closure last weekend of Coláiste Mhuire at Loughanure after 11 confirmed cases of the swine flu virus and a further 140 students showed symptoms. School principal Donal O’Neill said the college expects to reopen on Saturday for the return for the final week of their course of almost 300 students.
Local GP, Dr Tony Delap, who dealt with a majority of the cases said it seemed to “be a mild case of swine flu”. The majority of students “recovered and were straight back to good health within a period of between 24 and 36 hours.’’
He pointed out that there were up to 25 students “living in the same house and meeting on a daily and nightly basis. The flu spread very quickly.”
The HSE said children “with flu -like illness are taking clinical advice from GPs, in keeping with the treatment strategy now in effect in Ireland.”
The executive repeated its call to follow “simple public health measures” to help stop the spread of the virus.
“Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing with a tissue. Use a tissue only once and dispose of it quickly and carefully – bag and bin it. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.”
Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews echoed the HSE message to follow the hygiene measures and said that society should not over-react to the virus.
Speaking on RTÉ he said in most cases there was no need to attend a GP unless there was a serious underlying medical condition.
The first death in Ireland from the virus occurred on Friday when an 18-year-old woman with cystic fibrosis died.
Yesterday the British Medical Journal published research claiming that medication prescribed for the H1N1 virus – Tamiflu and Relenza – were unlikely to help children under 12 who catch the virus and could cause side effects.
But the HSE has reiterated that GPs are prescribing antiviral medication on the basis of a range of clinical and other features, to certain categories of patients suspected of having influenza A(H1N1).
“As most patients will have relatively mild symptoms, they will not need any anti-viral medication and will recover by staying at home to prevent the spread of infection, drinking plenty of fluids and taking paracetamol regularly to relieve their symptoms.”
Latest figures show 1,400 suspected cases of swine flu emerged, a drop of 1,000 on the previous week.