Effect of school closure on the incidence of influenza among school-age children in Arizona.

Objective: We assessed the impact of school closures as a viable intervention in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Methods: We evaluated the effect of scheduled, two-week winter break school closures during the 2004-2008 school years on the occurrence of influenza among children aged 5-17 years in Arizona.

Results: We found a consistent pattern of benefit to school-age children during winter school closures when non-school-age children and adults experienced significant increases in influenza incidence, an increase not seen among school-age children.