The holiday break for school students may help put the brakes on the flu epidemic, giving children a chance to rest and recover from the sniffles as their schools are cleaned and sanitized.
But some experts say those gains may be offset by crowded shopping malls, airports and holiday parties that create the potential for the virus to erupt anew in the schools.
Susan Mottice, an epidemiologist for the Utah Department of Health, said a strong case could be made for either outlook.
The flu virus doesn't live very long. Germs on doorknobs, handles and desks will die in 24 to 48 hours. With schools empty and being cleaned during the holidays, students should be coming back to relatively flu-free facilities.
But if they aren't in school, children are going to congregate somewhere else, said Steve McDonald, a spokesman for the state health department. During the holidays people are reluctant to miss festivities due to illness, and malls and family gatherings are good places to pick up viruses.
Nonetheless, McDonald said there are solid signs Utah has seen the worst of the epidemic.
The health department's Web site reported that 7 percent of patient visits to Utah's sentinel health-care providers were due to influenza-like illness for the week ending Dec. 20. The previous week's number was 9 percent.
Mottice said the numbers of cases is in a downturn, but the percentages are still much higher than last year's peak of 4.7 percent. Plus, the reported numbers only account for people who actually visited a doctor and were tested for influenza.
Figures released by the health department Tuesday reported a total 5,313 confirmed flu cases in Utah — an increase of 750 from last week.
So far, seven people have died from influenza-related illnesses. One was a pediatric patient and six were elderly.
At least 45 states have reported widespread influenza cases so far this year, and at least 42 children have died from it, mostly in Western states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In states such as Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, schools closed for one or more days before the Christmas break, with absentee rates as high as 50 percent.
Closing individual schools has not proven effective in stopping the flu, the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., reports on its Web site.
The center recommends that school staffers clean commonly used surfaces such as handrails, eating surfaces and desks frequently with disinfectants or bleach solutions.
The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools says paper tissues should be made available in all classrooms and school buses. Students should be encouraged to cover their nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing and all students should avoid sharing glasses, water bottles and utensils.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
E-MAIL: terickson@desnews.com