H1N1 case at Island Lake school

A confirmed case of the H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu, has hit Cotton Creek Elementary School in Island Lake, officials announced Thursday.

The school will remain open because the Centers for Disease Control does not advise schools with a confirmed case of the virus to close.

Wauconda Unit District 118 Superintendent Daniel Coles said the ill student is at home and feeling better.

The district is advising students who are sick with a temperature of more than 100 degrees and a cough and sore throat to see a doctor and stay home for at least seven days.

Coles said the district has doubled the night custodial staff at Cotton Creek in order to sanitize all the desks and common areas. Other steps are being taken to prevent an outbreak of the virus at all six of the district's schools.

"We are monitoring our daily attendance at all of our schools ... especially declining attendance rates that may indicate any sort of outbreak at our schools," Coles said. "We have not seen that."

Coles learned of the case late Wednesday and promptly alerted the community with a message that can be seen on the district's Web site.

"We believe it is important to share the alert so that students could take universal precautions like washing hands," Coles said.

Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said there are 22 confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu in Lake County. The department is advising people to clean, cover and contain as they would to prevent the seasonal flu.