Published: Thursday, 13th August, 2009 9:00am

Swine flu fears affect Church practices

by Editorial Department

Print | Email

By all accounts, at this stage it looks as if schools will re-open as normal this September.

There had been concern that this would not happen among fears that swine flu would spread much more rapidly once children began to congregate closely together in the classroom. Evidence from seasonal flu shows that children secrete larger quantities of the virus and longer than adults, which can lead to the rapid spread of infection when they are together in school. Under fives are included in the government's "at risk" group for swine flu.

The Department of Education has said that should multiple cases occur, meetings will be held with education and health authorities to decide how to deal with the issue. These incident meetings will include discussions on whether the school needs to be closed. The school will be fully involved in the decision making process.

Pupils who fall ill while at school are to placed away from other children while waiting to go home, following already in place contingency plans. All schools have individual emergency plans in place to deal with this type of situation which include up-to-date contact details for parents or guardians.

The picture would seem clearer in terms of planning for dealing with any possible outbreaks of swine flu after term starts.

In terms of how to deal with the virus if it is caught, new stories emerging daily have had a confusing effect. Oxford University research, published in the British Medical Journal, warned that Tamiflu can cause vomiting in some children, which can lead to dehydration and the need for hospital treatment. It casts doubt on the anti-viral drug's benefits outweighing its side-effects.

And in terms of a vaccine, the government has said that the UK will be procuring pandemic vaccine for the entire population following the Department of Health in London negotiations with the two main vaccine manufacturers on behalf of the four UK Health Departments.

"Currently possible delivery models for vaccination are being considered across the UK. Further announcements in relation to the roll out of the vaccination programme by all four countries will be made in due course," the spokesperson said.

People really do want to know when this will happen.

And there appears to be slightly conflicting advice coming from the pages of the Church of Ireland Gazette over hand shaking. While the Archbishops and Bishops have suggested in their advice "it is possible to continue to exchange the Peace as long as proper hand and good general hygiene is observed", the Editorial in the same publication says that in the current context "it is preferable for the time being to suspend general hand shaking at Church".

Bishops have also advised that at Holy Communion, communicants may choose to avoid the common cup and receive bread only. "This is acceptable and may be advisable if we see a significant rise in the rates of infection in Ireland," they say.

People may become more reserved in the course of church services in the weeks to come. But the suggestions are common sense and at this stage of the pandemic, should be welcomed.