Swine flu at Castle Hill School

Jul 11 2009 By Anne-Marie Senior

A PUPIL at a Huddersfield school has contracted swine flu.

Parents at Castle Hill School in Newsome received the news in a letter sent home with pupils yesterday.

The pupil, believed to be a girl from the Dewsbury area, was diagnosed yesterday morning.

It is believed the pupil was still attending school up to Thursday.

The letter sent by headteacher Gill Robinson says: "We have had a confirmed case of swine flu at our school.

"The child concerned is not in school and will remain at home for the recommended period of seven days.

"Advice from the Primary Care Trust, Health Prevention and the local authority is that school should remain open as usual."

It goes on to say the school sent a letter to parents on Thursday with advice and precautions to take if their child shows symptoms of swine flu.

The school will remain open despite the outbreak, in line with Government recommendations.

But staff remained tight-lipped about the case, other than confirming they were working with Kirklees Council.

More than 100 pupils aged between three and 19 attend the school for children with severe and profound learning disabilities.

A parent – who did not wish to be named – said: "This is a real shock and it has come out of the blue.

"These children are so vulnerable because of the nature of their conditions. It is so worrying."

"It really couldn’t have happened to a more vulnerable group."

The news came as health chiefs confirmed swine flu has spread to Huddersfield.

But they were unable to say how many cases had hit the town, despite seeing a "noticeable rise" in the number of antiviral drug prescriptions being given.

According to NHS Kirklees, the exact number of cases is no longer being logged since the Government decided to change the way it is dealing with the outbreak.