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| November 27, 2009 | Closing schools can curb swine flu-spread: Study | | Washington: Closing schools in the event of an infectious disease pandemic could have a significant role in reducing illness transmission, according to a new study.
Niel Hens, from Hasselt and Antwerp University, Belgium, conducted a study with
the assistance of a team of European researchers to reach the conclusion that
the spread of diseases on weekends/holidays were significantly lesser than on
school days. The researchers used previously published data from Belgium, England
& Wales, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Poland and The Netherlands to estimate
the effects of school closure on the number of close contacts people make in a
day. Hens said: "Mathematical models of how infectious diseases spread from person
to person through close contacts rely on assumptions regarding the underlying
transmission process. "One of these assumptions is that school closure will result
in reduced exposure for children. Until now, however, the exact impact of this
measure has not been proven". The researchers claimed contacts are reduced by
about 10 percent when schools are closed. Hens added: "Children are important
spreaders of many close contact pathogens due to their frequent and intimate social
contacts, their general hygiene, and perhaps their increased shedding. The reduced
opportunity for contact we describe here would be a great benefit in a pandemic
situation". "If we can assume that school closure in a pandemic situation resembles
school closure during holiday periods, then our results show that such a strategy
would have significant impact on disease transmission, of about 21percent. "Of
course, this is a conservative estimate as, during a pandemic, typical weekend
activities with a strong social component such as team sports and cultural outings
may not take place. "On the other hand, the expected large macroeconomic costs
of school closures would have to be balanced against these benefits". The study
has been published in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases. | |
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