ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Seminole County school reopened on Wednesday, a day after health officials said it would be closed for the rest of the week because an 18-year-old student has a probable case of swine flu, also known as H1N1.
Special Section|School Reopens|Map|Survey Crooms Academy of Information Technology in Sanford was closed on Tuesday in an effort to prevent the possible spread of the virus. U.S. health officials recommended earlier on Tuesday that schools no longer close because of swine flu.
Parents faced the tough decision of whether or not to send their kids back to the school.
"I feel OK about it because I'm in the medical field and learned about in on the internet with co-workers," one parent said about sending their child back to school.
Most parents said they were fine with sending their kids back, but attendance at Crooms Academy was down by 13 percent on Wednesday.
Principal Dr. Connie Collins said absences were much higher than usual.
"I did have one student show up with a mask on; welcome to do so," Collins said.
School board officials said the school is safe and the CDC's guidelines no longer advise school closure for a suspected or confirmed case of swine flu.
Orange County health officials announced Monday afternoon that the 18-year-old Seminole County student had a probable case of swine flu. He was treated at an Orange County health-care facility, and tests have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will determine if the teen has contracted swine flu.
Additional custodians were brought in on Tuesday to scour the school, which has about 600 students. The school's buses were also cleaned.
Local 6 News showed video of workers wearing masks and latex gloves cleaning computers, chairs and desks with a disinfectant.
The student, who was sick and out of school for four days last week, has fully recovered and attended school on Monday. It's not known how the teen contracted the possible virus.
"There isn't any identifiable contact that we can say definitively that he got it from going to Mexico or a friend of family from Mexico," a health official said.
The Florida Department of Health has confirmed five cases of swine flu in Florida. Health officials said a 14-year-old girl who visited the Orlando area tested positive for swine flu. The girl recently returned to Mexico.
Health officials said the girl visited numerous places but was isolated as soon as she exhibited symptoms. Members of her family visited Disney, but she did not. Her surroundings were disinfected, she responded well to Tamiflu treatment and no members of her immediate family became ill.
"In Orange County currently, there are no further probable cases," Dr. John DePasquale of the Florida Department of Health said.
Health officials said the majority of suspected cases have not been swine flu.
A Flagler County woman is being tested for swine flu. She got sick while in the process of moving to Arizona.
Also on Monday, the South Carolina Health Department said none of the high school students who visited Disney and returned with flu-like symptoms have tested positive for swine flu.
Of the four tested students, two results were negative and one tested positive for seasonal flu. Officials were awaiting the results of the fourth test.
Meanwhile, concern about swine flu has prompted school to cancel the remainder of its field trips. The principal of Liberty Middle School in Orange County said with so many parents already pulling their children out of the trips, he decided to take a proactive approach.
A toll-free information line has been established to address an increasing number of calls from the public requesting swine flu/H1N1 information. The number is 800-342-3557, and it is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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