I think our city was one of the first ones in Japan to have a proper outbreak of swine flu. The school had to be closed for 3 days in mid-September, but the teachers still went to work as normal. It was also one of the first schools in the city to be hit. We had a kind of seige atmosphere, with just teachers working in the teachers' room, all of us wondering if we had already contracted swine flu. In the end, only one teacher caught it. The kids returned in due time, in good health and spirits.
Some time later, my younger son's elementary school also had several closed classes and grades. However, 1st and 4th grades had hardly any flu. They decided this was because the 1st and 4th grade classrooms were on the other side of the school from everyone else. Later the 1st grade caught it, but still not the 4th grade (my younger son's grade).
Then it came to my older son's school. My son caught it at the same time as quite a few other people, and the whole school was closed for 3 days. This was around Oct. 21 or so. My son had a positive result on either an Influenza A test or an H1N1 test (I don't know which), and the doctor said he had H1N1. He was prescribed Relenza, which you take by breathing in. Here in Japan they do not give Tamiflu to kids age 10 or over, because they had a worrying number of older kids getting hurt or dying from irrational behavior while on Tamiflu (though it has not been proven that Tamiflu was the cause). Here, Tamiflu had been regularly prescribed to most flu sufferers for some years - my younger son had taken it the two times he caught flu, in 2005 and 2006. Anyway, I was very happy with the Relenza because my older son's stomach is sensitive and he tends to throw up anytime he has a fever (even if it is a fever from an ear infection or some other random thing). I wouldn't like for him to throw up his medicine, so the Relenza (that is breathed in) was just right! He got well soon - he only seemed really under the weather for one night (during which he did indeed throw up, but good boy, didn't wake the rest of us!). By about 10 a.m. the next day he was happily watching TV! His fever didn't go higher than 38.9 (102 degrees F), that I know of. After getting well he had a lingering mild cough, for a week or two.
None of us caught it from him, but approx. one week after he was well, the 4th grade at my younger son's school finally came down with it, all at once! About half the 4th grade was suddenly home from school, and I think the diagnosis was confirmed in about 1/3 of the total number of kids. My younger son got sick at the same time, with the same symptoms as his friends, and the same as my older son. I took him to the doctor 17 hrs. after symptoms had started, but the flu test was negative. I've heard that the test could still show negative even up until symptoms have been there for 24 hrs. Anyway, the doctor thought it was probably H1N1, anyway, and prescribed the Relenza for us (my son is 10 -- it seems that a classmate who is just short of her 10th birthday was prescribed Tamiflu).
As mentioned, younger son's symptoms were very similar to older son's, and the progression of the illness was basically identical. He did not have a lingering cough, however. He also had a highest measured fever of 38.9 C (102 degrees F).
I hope that he did indeed have H1N1, because I would love to be done with it and not have him catch it later!
Both times it did not spread to me or my husband, and I have not heard of any other parents or teachers here having it (besides that one teacher at my workplace) (though I'm sure there are others, of course). Generally speaking, in Japan it seems to not be spreading so much beyond young people, for some reason.
The nice thing for us was that both my kids had it (or hopefully had it) at the same time as many other classmates, so when their classes were closed, they were home sick, too, and they didn't miss anything at school. At my younger son's school, all of the 4th grade missed their school's school performance day (Happyoukai), but they had a special 4th-grade-only Happyoukai the following weekend. The school was so nice, asking all the other kids and as many non-4th-grade parents as possible to attend the 4th grade performance, to duplicate the conditions of the real Happyoukai so the 4th graders wouldn't be sad! It was a good show, and only 2 kids missed performing in it (out of about 62 total 4th graders). It was a space story called Cosmo Rangers Go, Go-go! A cute story about some space rangers who go to two different planets - on one planet they inspire the inhabitants (cute aliens with silver antennae) to clean up their garbage, and on the other planet (an ancient Greek-inspired planet) they help the two fighting queens to become friends again. When I first heard the theme, I thought it sounded a bit kindergartenish, but it was cute and the kids looked happy! My Jiji played one of the rangers (he did the first third of the role of a boy called "Taku", a kind of naughty boy who argues some with the other rangers). He did great! :)
2 comments:
From what I can see (via local parents and facebook friends), when adults (or people in their late 30's) get it, it lingers on longer but not intense. I think I did have it, overlapping LN's more intense 5 day one, but my symptoms were more manageable with ibuprofen, lots of homeopathic remedies, and fever never went up more than 100.5 degrees farenheit. (It's been so long, I don't even know know what that means in terms of celcius...)
I do think the public health officials all over the world did more damage by creating way too much hype over it. On the other hand, I do understand - because if it were worse than they initially predicted, people generally tend to feel the need to blame someone for mother's nature's cruel ways.
Here, LN's ped offered Tamiflu (LN's 4 yrs old) but recommended that I don't accept since LN is doing just fine fighting it off herself and Tamiflu side effects can be pretty nasty (dizziness, nausea, vomiting).
Glad you guys are all coming out of all this well!
It's good that you did not have it too bad! I've read a couple of blogs and message board postings from moms in other countries who were pretty miserable with it.
For some reason, in my neighborhood and local schools etc., I haven't really heard firsthand of any adults getting it, except that one teacher. It goes around the schools like wildfire, though.
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