Swine flu alert closes school

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — An elementary school in the Fountain Valley School District has been closed for as long as two weeks due to a probable case of the swine flu, marking the first time a campus in Orange County has been shut down during the recent epidemic.

Moiola Elementary School shut its doors this morning after officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed administrators that two students had possibly contracted the swine flu, according to Rina Hansen, an executive assistant for the superintendent. The school would likely be closed for between seven and 14 days, she said.

In a letter to parents posted on its website, the district said two Moiola students were possible swine flu cases, although Howard Sutter, a spokesman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said his office knew of only one. Sutter said the campus would be closed not because germs were likely still in the building, but because officials wanted to keep out people who might have contacted the virus.

“That’s why the school is closed,” Sutter said. “The school isn’t closed because it needs to be cleaned.”

Administrators at Moiola could not be reached for comment this morning.

Swine flu, a respiratory disease of pigs caused by influenza, has infected 286 Americans in the last month and caused one death in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other cases have been reported in Mexico and Canada.

The district, on its website, advised that students avoid gathering outside the school during the closure and that parents and students stay home if they have flu-like symptoms.