Lafayette schools still unsure on flu

• By MARSHA SILLS
• Advocate Acadiana bureau
• Published: May 1, 2009 - Page: 1A

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LAFAYETTE — Parents still have no answer as to whether the swine flu is spreading through Lafayette schools.

Lab results are still pending for five cases of Type A influenza confirmed at Cathedral-Carmel School. Such is also the status on reported cases from Orleans, St. Martin and St. Tammany parishes, according to state officials.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday during a news conference that samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further testing.

Jindal said more than 100 Type A influenza cases have been tested statewide.

In Lafayette, Type A influenza has been confirmed at four more parochial school campuses and one public elementary school.

Parochial schools in Lafayette with confirmed diagnoses told their students to stay home today.

“We really are erring on the side of caution,” said Anna Larriviere, superintendent of schools for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette. She said the affected schools will be “thoroughly disinfected from top to bottom.”

Parents at St. Pius, Our Lady of Fatima, both in Lafayette, and St. Cecilia in Broussard, were notified of the closure Thursday afternoon.

Two cases of Type A influenza were reported at both St. Pius and St. Cecilia, and one confirmed case was reported at Fatima, she said.

Schools of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau also decided to close its campus Thursday afternoon after one case was confirmed, according to Lynne Lieux, headmistress.

Despite one confirmed case of Type A at Katharine Drexel Elementary, public schools are open today, Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Burnell Lemoine said.

“At this point, we have children who have flu Type A every year,” Lemoine said, adding the district is in close contact with public health officials and is following their recommendations.

For parents, the wait for test results has been frustrating, said Raeven Lopez, whose son, Brandt, is in the PreK program at Fatima.