When Pigs Fly at Penn Manor: fighting flu fears and flying phlegm

As the air gets colder and the wind gets stronger, more and more kids are coming into Penn Manor High School sick as dogs.

Parents have called with concerns to the nurses’ office with fears of a Swine Flu epidemic and Penn Manor nurse, Anne Butterfield, has calmly answered their calls of anxiety.


Photo Credit: Alex Geiger

Yes, this is flu season but no, not every sick kid has Swine Flu, known officially as H1N1, explained Butterfield.

However, Butterfield did note that she has been getting one to two calls a day from parents saying that doctors have diagnosed students with Swine Flu.

“Physicians are diagnosing H1N1 in our community,” she said, describing that flu strain as peculiar because of the way it hits people from ages 5 to 25.

Some of those students had come to Butterfield complaining about fever, body aches and a sore throat. As soon as she hears those symptoms, classic of Swine Flu and other influenza, she quarantines the students and sends them home.

“It’s a very contagious virus and it can make you feel very bad and can lead to secondary infections,” said Butterfield. “I think we need to do things to prevent it.”

As a nurse, Butterfield cannot diagnose Swine Flu on her own but she can give some helpful hints to stay in tip-top shape. Plenty of rest, good nutrition, washing your hands as much as possible and the most important one, stay away from sick people, no matter what the sickness, she advises.

“If you would get a sudden onset of high fever, see your doctor, because you can get an anti-viral medication that will lessen the severity of the symptoms and the length of time you have them,” stated Butterfield. “Stay home until you are FEVER FREE for at least 24 hours.”

People who are sick with the Swine Flu could be out for several days at a time, since Swine Flu typically lasts four days, according to Butterfield.  Students can email teachers and have family members or friends bring home work

Vaccinations are now available in other states and when it comes to Pennsylvania, Butterfield supports them.  She gave some advice. “Get vaccinated.

“Nothing is 100% but you’ll get pretty good coverage.”

Written by: Jake Shiner and Alex Blythe


  1. Ellen Pollock says:

    This article is perfect to calm the fears out there about H1N1. Nurse Anne does a great job in the high school health room with so many things and this writer captured her work perfectly.

  2. Beth Mader says:

    Super article! I am proud to see two former students turning out to be excellent writers! Great job guys!

  3. Gina Kostelich says:

    What a great article to help parents, public and staff to stay in the loop regarding the H1N1 flu, and how it affects our school district.

  4. Steven Guidos says:

    Great story. I really like your writing

  5. Chandler Gilbert says:

    Great article. Sounds like the Swine Flu is going around pretty bad right now though.

  6. collin shaab says:

    this is a good article about swine flu. it calms people down if they read it, well it calmed me down. I also like the title its very fitting.

  7. Charles Kauffman says:

    Hey I like this article because it explains a lot about swine flu and how it is affective to a lot of people. I don’t understand about how every body thinks they have it but i don’t want it and with a lot of people having it, i could get it. But i hope every body gets better that has it. Thank you for the update.

  8. good article, i like writing alot – you guys have good writing style.
    but swine flu aint much of a threat, ya dig?

  9. paulbailey says:

    i like the story is good and its cool that parents/teens can even come to the school with their wear abouts