Flu pandemic could be prevented with school closures

Closing schools could stop the spread of a flu pandemic and one in seven cases of bird influenza could be prevented, according to researchers.

The researchers from Imperial College in London used a computer model based on a theoretical pandemic of the H5N1 bird flu virus to explore how school closures would affect the spread.

Results showed that a prolonged shutting of the schools would prevent up to one in seven cases.

Dr Simon Cauchemez, researcher from the College, said to Reuters: "The main effect would be to slow and flatten the outbreak, so the numbers becoming ill in the worst week of the outbreak might be reduced by up to 40 percent, reducing peak demand on health-care systems."

The research also pointed out that closing schools would put additional hardships on working parents, who may be forced to arrange childcare during a prolonged period of closures.

Recent outbreaks of human-to-human transmission of bird flu have been reported in China where a father caught the H5N1 virus from his son.

Experts fear a mutation of the virus which would increase the spread of transmission between humans and create a worldwide pandemic.

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