150 PUPILS OFF IN ONE DAY
Primary school badly hit as vomiting bug cuts a swathe through North East’s children
SCORES of youngsters at a North East school have had to stay home after falling ill with winter bugs.
Yesterday 120 children at Holystone Primary School in North Tyneside were off sick. On Tuesday, the number was 150.
The health protection team at Public Health England North East says it has received reports of flu and other winter viral illnesses including vomiting, fever, coughs and sore throats amongst pupils.
The organisation is working with North Tyneside Council and the 450-pupil school to provide more information to parents and prevent the spread of winter bugs.
Dr Kirsty Foster, consultant in health protection for Public Health England North East, said: “At this time of year it is not uncommon for viruses including influenza (flu) and norovirus to circulate in the community and in schools. Flu can be extremely unpleasant for young children and the flu nasal spray vaccination for children is the best form of protection we have.
“It is important that children who are at high risk of flu visit their GP straight away to get vaccinated, if they haven’t already.
“Primary school children should take up the opportunity to get vaccinated when their school vaccination programme begins and toddlers aged two and three should visit their GP surgery.
“The risk of infection can be reduced by practising good hand hygiene, particularly after using the toilet, after using a tissue to catch a cough or a sneeze, and before eating.
“Children who are feeling unwell should not attend school and only return once fully recovered and at least 48 hours after symptoms have passed.
“If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or need further advice on how to manage an illness please consult your GP or NHS 111 in the normal way.” Public Health England said there had been “slight delays” nationally to the delivery of some batches of the flu vaccine this year but this has not prevented children at high risk of flu from getting the vaccine.
First, there was a two-week delay compared with last year as the World Health Organisation took longer to make a decision on the strain to include in the vaccine.
However, the schools’ programme started at the beginning of October.
Following this, there was a “temporary pause” of around five days to schools ordering the childhood vaccine. This began on November 8 and lasted until November 14.
As a result, some schools have had to reschedule their flu vaccination sessions.
The delay related only to some batches of Fluenz Tetra nasal spray.
A spokesperson for Public Health England said: “We are working with AstraZeneca and NHS England and NHS Improvement to ensure that all eligible children get their flu vaccine as soon as possible. We have now received further vaccine from AstraZeneca, and the temporary pause in ordering vaccine for the schools programme has been lifted.
“Children who have underlying medical conditions who have had clinics cancelled at school should still go to GP to get their vaccine.”
The outbreak follows a number of similar incidents across the region.
Hundreds of pupils were told to stay at home after the winter bug hit St Mary’s RC Voluntary Aided Primary School in Jarrow last week.
The school was closed at the end of last week and a deep clean was carried out, with pupils and staff returning on Monday.
Public Health England was also called to Kells Lane Primary School in Low Fell, Gateshead, following reports of a large number of sick children.
And on Tuesday, Jarrow School and Jarrow Cross C of E Primary School were shut to allow a deep clean to take place.