If a bird flu pandemic hits the UK will it still be illegal to take your child out of school for fear they will pick up the illness?

[pepsi]

I watched Panorama last night and one of the parents said they would take their child out of school if a pandemic strikes in order to protect them. I would imagine lots of parents might do this. Schools may even close for a time but what if I as a parent made the decision to keep my children at home...they are 5 and 3. In this situation will I be within my rights to do so or would I run the risk of big fines or prison. Im going to ask the school this week if they have had any information on what might happen etc.

I think they would close schools anyway, so I heard.

I really think you are getting ahead of yourself here. I'm sure the teachers have lots to do atm and there is no human bird flu pandemic.
IMO it's all in the same bracket as the huge human mad cow disease outbreak, the fact that we were all going to die of Aids (which was, iirc, going to become airborne any moment too) and all the other health panics we've survived so far.
I could be wrong, but I refuse to panic until I've got somethign to panic about.

Thats right, but the virus will come in waves, might be around for 3 months the die down and then there would be another wave. Would schools potentially close for 3 months? I would have my children at home for as long or short a time as neccssary......the country would grind to a halt though if working parents had to stay home.

I didn't see Panorama...but I am tending to the view that this is all big media overreaction and hype...

Particularly since I read a very sensible sane article in Practical Poultry on this very subject

What did Panorama say then? - lots of scaremongering no doubt?

I wouldnt say Im panicking, more just wondering.

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Since we have a right to home educate our children, wouldn't we do that? I agree that it is a long way off, but if my children were at substantial risk by going to school, there is no way I would send them.

There isn't even a human strain of avian flu yet, so there's no way of telling how it would affect us, and whether it would come in waves or not. I'm with aloha - I'll worry about it when there's something to worry about, not while it's all still conjecture.

Pepsi...there is no 'will' about it. It 'might' come in waves if it ever mutates enought to be infectious between humans, if it ever gets here and if in the course of mutation it does not become far less virulent...

the local health authority will have a co-ordinated emergency plan with the local council ..regarding quarantine, restricitng large gatherings and movements of population if it becomes necessary ..but that possibility is still a long way off and may not occur in relation to bird flu.

Not really scaremongering. They made it clear that it was safe to eat chicken and eggs and even if you ate an infected bird the cooking with kill the bacteria and the acids in your stomach would kill the virus anyway. An infected bird wont lay eggs so you wont get it that way. We are one of the 3 best prepared countries in the workd, if not the best. I feel that it will hit at some point or other. The programme was answer questions from the public and people in the chicken and egg business. My question would just be though if I chose to keep my children off....when schools were open would I be within my rights.

Not really scaremongering. They made it clear that it was safe to eat chicken and eggs and even if you ate an infected bird the cooking with kill the bacteria and the acids in your stomach would kill the virus anyway. An infected bird wont lay eggs so you wont get it that way. We are one of the 3 best prepared countries in the workd, if not the best. I feel that it will hit at some point or other. The programme was answer questions from the public and people in the chicken and egg business. My question would just be though if I chose to keep my children off....when schools were open would I be within my rights.

my ds school did have to put in place arrangements for quarantine during the sars outbreak and all went smoothly for that.

IF the virus changes to a human form then my kids don't go school, I don't go Uni, full stop (DH would have to go work or get sacked, but I would use infection control techniques on him as best I could).

A potentially fatal virus versus my kids getting ill.... hmm, I wonder.

I am informed the first wave would be the most virulent?

I'll only take them out on their birthdays

parpity parp

OMG, what is this about HIV becoming airbourne.....how frightening.

I'd pull them out for a term-time holiday.

Hoot!

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A virologist being interviwed on TV. Not right then? That is why I put a q mark after, so no-one took me as an authority.

PHEW.

It's all well and good to speculate, but until - and IF - the virus ever mutates to a state where it can be transmitted person to person, we'll just have to wait and see.

PPP - didn't see last night's programme but caught last week's. On that one, the virologist said the first wave would be the most virulent.

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I agree, Pruni.

Scientists are doing what they can to research this, develop a vaccine, etc.

It may happen. It may not.

It was the one on Panorma though, as Avalon said, I'd probably take them more for sensible as opposed to the ones on for example This MOrning (having been asked to go on there myself twice on the basis of not a lot!). She said she'd take her kids out for the first three months, and take them to the Country (So suspect she'll be bringing infection here LOL)

Even if the virus didn't reduce in strength, three months contributes to the time required for treatments / vaccines to be developed.

But obviously, if there was a huge risk about after 3 months I would use up to date info, from every resource available to me.