Several Otago secondary schools are out of pocket because Japanese schools have cancelled short-term student exchanges in the wake of the swine-flu pandemic.
This is despite Otago and Southland continuing to be one of only three New Zealand areas free of confirmed or "probable" cases of swine flu.
Numbers are increasing rapidly elsewhere, with more than 300 cases centred largely on Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury.
Northland and Taranaki are the other areas so far escaping confirmed cases.
East Otago High School principal Rick Geerlofs said a planned short stay by six Japanese pupils in July and August would be cancelled because of caution from Japan about the health threat.
The decision was understandable, but the school would miss the small profit for which it had budgeted.
An annual visit of about 20 pupils from Sakuragoaka High School in Japan to Kaikorai Valley College had also been cancelled recently, with college principal Philip Craigie believing the reason was swine-flu caution.
A Taieri College junior exchange to Japan had also been cancelled.
Acting principal Paul Bolton said school traffic in and out of Japan had been stopped.
Dunedin Secondary Partnership co-ordinator Gordon Wilson said swine flu could have a "significant" effect on school finances similar to the Sars virus in 2001.
