Board members of the Martha's Vineyard Youth Lacrosse last Thursday cancelled a game scheduled for Sunday, May 10, for fear the visiting team would spread the H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu.
The action left the visiting team scrambling to cancel complicated reservations and change Mother's Day travel plans, three days before the game.
Though not affiliated with the school, the visiting team is from the Nashoba Regional School District, which encompasses the towns of Stow, Bolton, and Lancaster. Parents in that school system were notified that a student there had a "probable" case of the H1N1 virus.
Vineyard Youth Lacrosse director Kira Sullivan notified the visiting team in a phone call Thursday evening.
"I was unhappy," said Patty Bolton, who is an official of the Nashoba Youth Lacrosse League, and coach of the two girls teams that were scheduled to travel to Martha's Vineyard on Sunday. "It was really something we worked hard to make happen. It takes a little bit of planning to get people from Bolton and Stowe to Martha's Vineyard. We were a little upset. Our girls aren't sick. We didn't have a problem."
Ms. Bolton said the flu case did not involve any members of the two teams, or their families. The school did not close because of the case, and did not cancel any sporting events or extra-curricular activities.
The decision to cancel was made on Thursday by several members of Martha's Vineyard Youth Lacrosse.
When contacted Monday, Ms. Sullivan was at first reluctant to talk about the board's decision, and asked that The Martha's Vineyard Times not report the story. "As an organization we felt that any risk to our players or to Martha's Vineyard was not something we felt comfortable with," she said. "There wasn't a lot of time for us to make a decision."
The Martha's Vineyard Times was unable to contact any of the Martha's Vineyard Youth Lacrosse board members listed on the organization's web site.
Island plans
Some families on the visiting team planned a Mother's Day weekend trip around the lacrosse games scheduled for last Sunday. The father of one team member said he was appalled at the last-minute decision to cancel the games.
"There were a lot of mistakes made here," said David Koury of Stow in a telephone conversation Friday. "This is an influenza, it's treatable. There's not one other youth- or school-sponsored team that has had an issue with any other team playing. Yet the girls of this lacrosse team get a message. It's like 'you're lepers, we don't want to associate with you.' There are people on Martha's Vineyard that think this way? I'm absolutely appalled."
Mr. Koury said he intended to make the trip to the Vineyard to enjoy an Island weekend, even though the games were cancelled.
Ms. Bolton said better communication might have avoided cancellation of the game, but she was not asked for any information about the team's possible exposure. She said there was a lot of disappointment among team members, who enjoyed a similar road trip to Martha's Vineyard last year.
"I don't want any hard feelings," said Ms. Bolton. "I've been through enough feeling bad about it, but we're probably not interested in coming down next year."
Flu policy
In late April, the H1N1 virus spread from Mexico to the United States and beyond. It is usually spread through close contact with an infected person. In the first days of the outbreak, public health officials were unsure about the severity of the flu virus, so the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health recommended schools and child care centers consider closing if the virus was confirmed. But by May 4, both federal and state officials advised that schools not be closed, because confirmed cases of the virus were generally mild, no more severe than seasonal flu. (The advisory is available here.) Instead, they advised parents to keep children at home if they were sick, and consult their family doctor if they were concerned about flu symptoms.
"As the illness becomes more common in the community, individualized school closure based on reports of diagnosed cases is less effective, in addition to being impractical, as a control measure," wrote state health officials in a letter intended to provide guidance for schools and child care facilities. "Closing the schools where cases happen to be diagnosed while leaving most schools with undiagnosed cases open does not make sense as an ongoing influenza control strategy in our community. School closures create disruption for student learning and hardships for working parents."
In a letter to concerned parents, the medical director for the state Department of Public Health offered an explanation of the public policy.
"Whether or not there is a confirmed case in your community or in your school, it is most likely there," said Dr. Lauren Smith. "You should assume that you could be exposed to this new flu at school, at work or at the grocery store (in other words, anywhere you go). So, it is really important to take common sense precautions to protect yourself. That means washing your hands frequently with soap and warm water, or using an alcohol based hand-sanitizer, and staying away from people who are coughing or sneezing."
Dr. Smith also advised parents to view the spread of the disease as a chance to inform children about infectious diseases, and the responsibility to take precautions to keep themselves and their friends healthy.
"Take this opportunity to reinforce both of these messages with your kids. Teach them how to keep themselves from getting sick, and how not to spread disease to others when they do get sick - whether it's a cold, the flu or some other illness," wrote Dr. Smith.
As of Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Health reported 115 cases of H1N1 virus in Massachusetts. There have been no confirmed cases so far in Dukes or Barnstable Counties. Of the confirmed cases, 12 people were hospitalized, and all have been discharged. There have been no deaths reported in Massachusetts.
