A RESPECTED doctor has condemned the opening of schools as normal before a vaccine for rapidly spreading swine flu is readily available.

Having identified the young and teenage groups as the most vulnerable to the illness, Dr Eamonn McDwyer told the Herald it would make more sense to postpone the re-opening of primary, secondary and third level facilities until all of those groups have been vaccinated in October.

Dr McDwyer, based in Cavan, said: "I've seen it all before every September. Viral infections spread by the hundreds in the first weeks of school."

VACCINE

He is one of the few medical officials to publicly criticise the Government's decision to keep schools open in spite of the widespread illness.

"The vaccine is supposed to ready by October, so there is no reason why young people can't go back to school then, safely. Nothing is enough to prevent this; the vaccine is the only prevention," he said.

It is of particular concern to him that children have been at home safely with minimum exposure to other children rather than in a confined space such as a classroom, allowing the disease to spread quickly.

"They have been isolated in their homes and then will be crowded into one classroom, it is inevitable that they are going to get it," said Dr McDwyer.

The illness has caused the death of two Irish people and up to one million are expected to contract the flu this winter.

Schools and third level facilities will be opening as normal this week and next, and they will then be assessed to determine if they should close or not.

The HSE is sending out letters detailing precautionary measures for teachers to implement in the classroom.

The National Parents Council is in agreement with the decision to continue as normal, and suggests that students should follow the guidelines as much as possible.

A spokeswoman for the organisation said: "We decided at board level in July to follow the Department of Education guidelines and recommendations of the HSE.

"Students should carry tissues with them, and if they feel they are about to sneeze, they should sneeze into the tissue then dispose of it.

"They should be washing their hands properly and take particular caution to avoid sharing pens and pencils, because of the temptation of chewing on them," she said.

cmcbride@herald.ie

- Caitlin McBride