The H1N1 or swine flu virus that sickened about 20 percent of Waltham students this spring appears to have given them immunity, said Director of School Nurses Marie DeSisto.
"Yes, we have sick kids, but (H1N1) is not quite as rampant, or widespread as it was in the spring. It's more isolated," DeSisto said.
The pattern of infection seems to have changed since the new flu first hit the district, when it was highly contagious, she said. Now children are falling ill sporadically rather than in large clusters, she said.
She attributed the lower incidence rate to students developing immunity and getting vaccines, along with mild autumn weather.
The federal Centers for Disease Control has not yet confirmed that being infected with H1N1 once protects a person from future infection, DeSisto said.
A lot of students at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School on Lincoln Street were out sick last week, but that seems to have passed, she said.
In many cases, a student will come to school feeling fine, then have a sudden onset of high fever - 101 or 102 degrees, DeSisto said.
"The kids feel terrible, they really have to go home," DeSisto said.
Nurses are tracking the number of students who complain of flu-like symptoms on a daily basis, which varies considerably, DeSisto said.
On Nov. 9, for instance, 32 students were out sick with flu symptoms, and 22 on Nov. 10, she said. About 6 percent of the students at William F. Stanley Elementary (on South Street) were out sick with the flu on Nov. 13, she said.
Typically, infected kids only stay home for three or four days, she said.
In the spring, the CDC was advising health officials and educators to tell those with H1N1 symptoms to stay home for seven days, but now says people can return to school or work after they are fever-free for 24 hours, DeSisto said.
DeSisto said she does not know of any Waltham students who have been hospitalized with the swine flu, she said.
Students are not being tested for H1N1, but DeSisto is assuming those with flu-like symptoms and high fever have contracted the new flu, as the regular flu season does not begin until December at the earliest.
School nurses will give seasonal flu shots to Waltham High School students on Nov. 19, John F. Kennedy Middle School students on Nov. 20, and John W. McDevitt Middle School students on Nov. 23, she said.
Once regular flu season hits, nurses will have difficulty differentiating between seasonal and swine flu, DeSisto said.
"When it happens, we won't know which is which. They'll blend in together," she said.
She anticipates this winter will be an extremely busy time for school nurses.
"By February, the school nurses are always praying for February vacation," she said.
Joyce Kelly can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jkelly@cnc.com cnc.com.
