SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The NWT now has nine confirmed cases of swine or H1N1 flu - one of which, concerning a student at a Yk1 school, has prompted the territory's eight school boards to arrange for a meeting this fall.

"It happened sometime. We don't know who it is, or where," said Metro Huculak, the superintendent of Yk Education District No. 1.

The details on the case are not publicly known, even to the school board, due to patient confidentiality laws, but the mere mention of it has been enough to mobilize the boards to a higher degree of action.

"We've been taking all precautions just like the health department has been telling us," said Huculak.

"On our website and what we communicate to our staff is that we just make sure to remind the kids to wash with soap and water, and we put Handi-wipes in the classrooms," he added.

Now that a student has been diagnosed, efforts are to be stepped up for the next school year.

Huculak said all eight school boards in the NWT will be meeting together, along with the GNWT departments of education and health, to work on a pandemic plan for the school system.

"We're meeting on the 14th and 15th of September in, I believe it's Hay River. We're bringing in Vince Rodgers from the Alberta school boards," said Huculak.

Rodgers has worked with 38 school boards in Alberta to develop plans to deal with influenza hitting students, according to Huculak.

"Something will definitely come out of (the two days of meetings)," said Huculak. "You're better to be prepared than have to react."

Rodgers, an employee of the Alberta School Boards Association, could not be reached by press time to discuss both the issue and what he will bring to the meetings.

When asked whether the H1N1 case happened before school was out for summer, Umesh Sutendra, communications for the Department of Health and Social Services, said, "we don't really deal in specifics with individuals," and cited patient confidentiality.

Dr. Kami Kandola, acting chief medical officer for the NWT, said "nothing came from our office about a student coming down with swine flu."