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RALEIGH — As students across the state go back to school this week, they’ll likely be taking an unwelcome guest into the classroom: a persistent strain of the flu virus.

What health workers call H1N1 is the swine flu that flared up around the world last spring. And instead of dying out during the summer, said State Health Director Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the virus stuck around.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 North Carolinians have had the H1N1 virus, Engel said. And that’s likely to increase now that schools on calendars are back in session.

“The major issue is crowding,” Engel said. “So when young people, the primarily

affected population with H1N1, get together indoors for a long period of time like a six-hour school day, you know that you’re going to have conditions that are ripe for increased transmission.”

Young people are most affected by this particular strain of the flu, Engel said. That’s because those over 65 were alive when a related strain was around. The immunity gained during that exposure decades ago still affords them protection today, he said.

A vaccine for the virus has been developed but won’t be available until about Oct. 15. And it is separate from the vaccine for the typical seasonal flu.

People who need both will end up getting at least two and maybe even three shots. That’s because the currently approved H1N1 vaccine requires a booster shot three weeks after an original injection.

Until those vaccines are ready, Engel said, people can do three simple things to protect themselves:

• Respiratory etiquette: Cover your mouth when you sneeze and use a tissue.
• Hand hygiene: Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. A lot of transmission happens when someone sneezes and then touches someone else.
• Exclusion: If you’re sick, stay home. This applies especially to children with high fevers or other symptoms.

Engel said he expected school systems to be more aggressive than usual in keeping children who are showing flu-like symptoms out of the classrooms this year. Parents need to have alternate child care plans when their children came down with the flu.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com