Effect of short-term school closures on the H1N1 pandemic in Japan: a comparative case study

Abstract

Purpose. The 2009 worldwide influenza A/H1N1 pandemic particularly affected younger people, including schoolchildren. We assessed the effects of class/school closure during the pandemic on the spread of H1N1 infection in Japan. Methods. We prospectively monitored 2141 schoolchildren in 57 classes at 2 elementary schools and 2 junior high schools in Japan, and we evaluated the effects of class/school closures on the spread of H1N1 using descriptive epidemiological methods.Results. The cumulative rate of H1N1 infection among these children was 40.9% (876 children). There was a total of 53 closures of 40 classes, including school closures, during the pandemic. Time-course changes in the epidemic curve showed that school closure reduced the following epidemic peak more than class closure. A Poisson regression model showed that a longer duration of closure was significantly related to decreased H1N1 occurrence after the resumption of classes. Conclusions. School closure more effectively inhibits subsequent epidemic outbreaks than class closure. Longer school closures are effective in reducing the spread of infection, and school closure should be implemented as early as possible.

The Effect of School Closure on Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Transmission in Singapore: A Modeling Approach

“…To assess whether there was any longer term impact, we repeated the analysis comparing incidence in the second week (days 8-14) following the holiday with the week before it, as well as in the third week (days [15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

“…School closure as a form of social distancing intervention to mitigate transmission during an infectious disease outbreak 16 is often found in countries' pandemic preparedness plans. 17 The influenza literature shows that school closure may effectively reduce the spread, [18][19][20] and school vacations have a significant impact in limiting transmission. 21,22 Analyses also suggest that school closure combined with the use of antiviral agents is cost-effective and is a justifiable strategy for mitigating influenza pandemics.…”

Role of household factors in parental attitudes to pandemic influenza-related school closure in Japan: a cross-sectional study

“…Because these six schools had been investigated continuously for infectious disease epidemiology [11, 12], this study was conducted in these same schools. The ages of children attending kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school and special education needs school were 4–6, 7–12, 13–15 and 7–18 years old, respectively.…”

Evaluation of the spread of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 among Japanese university students

“…This information was thought to be useful for rapid implementation of adequate infection control measures at university organizations [12]. We also reported epidemiological studies among university organizations in Japan [13][14][15][16] and the results indicated that many students were infected with H1N1 and the specific transmission route was identified among university students in Japan. However, in Japan, although the information of H1N1 at educational organizations was distributed broadly it was not featured at universities or colleges in great detail.…”