Parents of students enrolled at Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School received automated calls on Sunday alerting them to a case of H1N1 or so-called swine flu at the school.

Principal Robert Turner confirmed that one student had been diagnosed with what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls novel influenza (H1N1). The student, Turner said, was absent for one day at the beginning of May.

“Last Friday,” Turner said, “I heard a student may have had H1N1. I gave the information to the school nurse, who called the student’s parents and then called the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health.”

While the health department said there was no reason for the school to do anything different, Turner did notify the school district of the student’s diagnosis. The district, he said, felt it was best to inform the parents to maintain transparency and avoid any appearance of hiding something.

Parents heard the following message when they answered their phones on Sunday: “This is an important message from MPH. The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health has confirmed that an MPH student tested positive for H1N1 Influenza.

“In following H1N1 protocols the San Bernardino County department of Public Health has advised us that there is no danger of contamination to students and no reason to consider closing school.

“Both the Department of Public Health and ROWUSD want to remind students, faculty and staff to stringently follow sanitary measures to reduce the spread of influenza, including covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing (or sneezing into their sleeve if a tissue isn’t available) frequently washing hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitizer if hand washing with soap and water is not possible.”

Principal Turner noted students started STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) on May 11. From that date through May 22, he said, there were fewer absences than average, leading one to the supposition there was no swell of illness at the school.

The incubation period for this new strain of flu is unknown, but is likely one to four days (www.cdc.gov).

According to information compiled by Dr. Henry Niman of Pittsburgh, Pa., as of May 27 there were 8,946 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza in the U.S.; of those cases, 13 were fatal.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases claims there are about 20,000 deaths a year in the U.S. from influenza. However, the CDC says an exact number cannot be determined as there is no requirement to report adult deaths and all pediatric cases may not be detected and reported.

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