District 518: No H1N1 cases confirmed

• District 518

District 518

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WORTHINGTON — Despite rumors, as of Wednesday no cases of H1N1 novel influenza, also known as swine flu, have been confirmed in District 518.

“It’s just one of those things. Parents are nervous about it and you can’t blame them, and the minute the rumors start flying, they go wild,” said District 518 Superintendent John Landgaard. “They build.”

Should a case of H1N1 be tested and confirmed in District 518, school officials would notify parents and encourage them to take more precautions against the illness.

“It’s pretty well-established that we’d notify people and make them aware they’d need to follow the precautions,” Landgaard said.

Although not many people have spoken to Landgaard directly, he believed the rumor of H1N1 in District 518 gained traction Tuesday and continued to spread Wednesday.

“If I understand right, there’s a parent out there who has put it on Facebook that (H1N1) is what their kid had, and there’s been no confirmation, nor test given,” Landgaard said. “We’re at seasonally normal illnesses. No one has even taken the H1N1 test, not to our knowledge.”

Only two students in the district have seasonal influenza, which is not the same as H1N1 influenza, and only 13 students were absent at Prairie Elementary Wednesday — fewer than usual.

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