Daycare didnt tell us of swine flu case

[Anonymous]

I just found out that my 2yo dd daycare is not planning to notify parents that there was a confirmed h1n1 case! She was sick last week but did not have it. Im really considering taking her out of the school based on this..Have others been told of cases at their daycares/schools? I also have a 5mo at home so im extra worried. It seems pretty irresponsible to me on their part.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused as to what happened.

You say there was a confirmed case of H1N1, and then you say she was sick, but "did not have it".

So which was it?

Regardless....IMO you need to assume that kids in your child's daycare center will be getting sick this fall and winter. Some of them will have flu-like symptoms. Some of those who are sick will turn out to have H1N1, but they may very well not be tested for it, and therefore they will not be confirmed cases. We are in the middle of a pandemic or a not too terribly severe flu virus, so a lot of people will be getting sick. You can assume that some of them wqill be at your child's daycare. What would you do differently, if you knew that someone was sick? If you woudl keep your child home from daycare, start doing so now, and send her back about 2 weeks after she has recieved the H1N1 vaccination.

[Anonymous]

Not the OP but give me a break. There ARE other diseases out there.

And I'd be pretty pissed too. If I found out there was swine flu at my son's daycare I'd not consider it a big deal.... but for them to delibrately not tell parents so that they cant make a decision about whether or not they wish to risk exposing their child would be a dealbreaker for me.

[Anonymous]

@1852 the issue was that they the daycare chose not to tell parents that this child was diagnosed..the Director did nto want to 'cause a panic". I just think that the parents need to know and decide on their own what they want to do. i know kids are getting sick w/whatever but generally daycares notify parents of less serious conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:@1852 the issue was that they the daycare chose not to tell parents that this child was diagnosed..the Director did nto want to 'cause a panic". I just think that the parents need to know and decide on their own what they want to do. i know kids are getting sick w/whatever but generally daycares notify parents of less serious conditions.

Agree with you 100%!!! It is our decision to what degree we want our children exposed. They can maintain confidentiality and still disclose the incident like they do with other communicable diseases. Like you stated---some have younger siblings, or immunocomprised relatives, etc. this is not the daycare's decision to make. They still get your monthly check regardless.

[Anonymous]

OP, you didn't answer my question.

You said "She was sick last week, but did not have it". What did you mean?

[Anonymous]

And as for the rest, I think it is just plain foolish to be mad at the director for not telling you a child had a confirmed case of H1N1.

SO MANY of the cases are not getting confirmed right now. You have to be hospitalized before they will even test for H1N1. That's something like 1/100 cases are being tested I think.

So chances are great that of a child in your kid's daycare is sick, with H1N1, you will never know. She'll just be "sick". With flu like symptoms, maybe., maybe not even. Some kids don't have a fever, even, with H1N1. So how would anybody know?

If it bothers you to know that your chld is attending school or daycare with someone who might turn out to have H1N1, and you wouldn't be told about it, again, I suggest you remove your child from daycare or school right now, get her vaccinated, and wait 2 weeks for the full effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you didn't answer my question.

You said "She was sick last week, but did not have it". What did you mean?

I think she meant her daughter (as in "was sick but not with the flu), NOT the other child with the confirmed case of swine flu.

[Anonymous]

I work in a school. We have kids sick right now, and no one is telling us that these are confirmed cases of H1N1.

confidentiality . . .

You can pick up the flu in a grocery store. So don't think you're sheltering your child if you keep her home.

You can only take preventive health measures and/or get the vaccination.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you do not go forward with a lawsuit against the school for this travesty, you should at least be sending your child to daycare in a bubble.

[Anonymous]

I think some of you posters are being incredibly harsh. Obviously, the caregivers and other parents heard that a child had a confirmed case of swine flu at the center. If they heard this, then the administrators should have addressed this openly themselves, rather than letting the rumor mill run its course.

I believe that the center should have sent a letter home: 1) confirming the case 2) saying that the child was fine (if that's the case) and 3) reiterating the CDC and Center's position on swine flu.

Ignoring this issue won't make it go away. Parents with newborns and other kids who are susceptible to the flu have a right to know if their child was exposed. Hiding it or ignoring it won't do any good, the best thing is to be open and honest and reiterate the center's policy on the situation.

OP, I think you have a right to be miffed and to tell the administrator you think they could have handled the situation better.

[Anonymous]

I don't think confidentiality comes into play here.

When there is an outbreak of lice, foot and mouth disease, etc., daycare and schools notoriously send letters home or inform parents. They can't release the child's name, but they can say there is something going on.

I'd be pissed too.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are over-reacting. You should assume that most cases of the flu these days are h1n1, so if any child in daycare has the flu, there is a very good chance that it is the h1n1 strain.

Doctors are not routinely testing for h1n1 because it is so common these days--usually testing is reserved for hospitalizations, pregnant women, high risk cases, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP what state do you live in? I know that VA licensing requires that daycare notify parents of communicable diseases within 24 hours of a confirmed case. I would most certainly be upset if I found out from a teacher or another parent instead of from the school and I would be looking for a new daycare.

[Anonymous]

I like our preschool/daycare (and our previous one) because they tell us if anyone has anything major. They don't say who. They just say "one case of X". Of course, you could probably figure it out if you tried hard enough, but really, I don't care who, I just care about what to look for.

I think it is irresponsible of the daycare to not mention it, because if you knew there was a case of swine flu (or anything serious), you could be on the look out for symptoms and then keep your child home before it spreads further. Also, what if one of the mom's is pregnant? She could be extra vigilent about what she touches at drop-off/pick-up, makes sure her child washes up before leaving, etc.