Schools Play Crucial Role in Slowing Spread of Seasonal
and H1N1 Flu
Monday, Aug. 10, 2009 - DENVER- As the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment prepares for flu
immunization activities, the department is urging schools,
child-care and college officials to talk to their students
and parents about what they are doing to slow the spread of
seasonal and H1N1 influenza this year. Health officials also
provided a link to a Back-to-School Resource Kit for schools
from U.S. Health and Human Services to assist schools with
planning for flu season at
http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/toolkit.html.
Ned Calonge, chief medical officer at the Department of
Public Health and Environment, said, “Schools and child-care
facilities should have emergency pandemic flu plans in place
to deal with ill children and high absenteeism rates. If
not, they should contact their local health department for
guidance on developing one. There are many resources
available, such as the toolkit, to assist them with
planning.”
Calonge said, “With the threat of seasonal flu
circulating this fall and winter, and H1N1 flu virus
currently circulating, schools and child-care facilities
play an important role in keeping our communities healthy.”
H1N1 flu, like seasonal flu, spreads in places where
children and young adults gather, said Calonge. “Now that
kids head back to school, we expect to see more cases, just
as we did this summer at camps in Colorado and across the
country.”
The CDC on Aug. 7 provided the following recommendations
for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education,
businesses, mass gatherings and other community settings:
- Decisions about school closures should be at the
discretion of local authorities based on local
considerations, including public concern and the impact
of school absenteeism and staffing shortages. CDC
stated, “The potential benefits of preemptively
dismissing students from school are often outweighed by
negative consequences.”
- School dismissal is not advised unless there is a
magnitude of faculty or student absenteeism that
interferes with the school’s ability to function.
- Schools should focus on early identification of
students and staff who are ill, staying home when ill,
and good cough and hand hygiene etiquette.
- Those with flu-like illness (fever with a cough or
sore throat) should stay home and not attend school or
go into the community except to seek medical care for at
least 24 hours after their fever is gone. (NOTE: This is
a change from the previous recommendation of seven
days.)
- Students, faculty and staff who appear to have a
flu-like illness at arrival or become ill during the day
should be isolated promptly in a room separate from
other students until they can be sent home.
- School staff should routinely clean areas that
students and staff touch often with the cleaners they
typically use. Special cleaning with bleach and other
non detergent-based cleaners is not necessary.
- The new recommendations emphasize the importance of
the basic foundations of influenza prevention: stay home
when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water
when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue
when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if
no tissue is available).
- People at high risk for influenza complications who
become ill with influenza-like illness should speak with
their health care provider as soon as possible. Early
treatment with antiviral medications is very important
for people at high risk because it can prevent
hospitalizations and deaths.
- Students, faculty or staff who live either on or off
campus and who have influenza-like illness should
self-isolate (i.e., stay away from others) in their dorm
room or home for at least 24 hours after their fever is
gone except to get medical care or for other necessities
(their fever should be gone without the use of a
fever-reducing medicine). They should keep away from
others as much as possible.
- Roommates or those caring for someone with flu-like
illness, should view “Taking Care of a Sick Person in
Your Home” at
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/.
- Web-based learning or other ways to increase social
distancing should be made available to students who
develop flu-like illness.
- Colleges should plan to provide assistance for
students with flu-like illness, including provision for
meals, medications and other care.
Calonge said simple hygiene practices such as hand
washing, covering a cough and staying home when ill can go a
long way in preventing the flu. However, the single best way
to protect against the flu is vaccination.
Vaccine for seasonal flu will be available as usual in
the fall. H1N1 vaccine is being manufactured separately, and
the first shipment of H1N1 vaccine may arrive in Colorado as
early as mid-October, depending on when the vaccine
production process is complete. When the vaccine does become
available, CDC is recommending certain groups be first to
receive the vaccine. The following recommendations are based
on the availability of adequate vaccine and could change.
Recommended priority groups include the following:
- pregnant women
- people who live with or care for children younger
than 6 months of age
- health care and emergency services personnel
- people between the ages of 6 months through 24 years
of age
- people aged 25 through 64 years who are at higher
risk for novel
- H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or
compromised immune systems
For more information about H1N1 and seasonal influenza,
visit the department’s Web site at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/. Planning checklists for
schools, businesses, etc., also are available on the Web
site at http://www.flu.gov/.
A free radio public service announcement for kids
returning to school is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/psa/psa_kids_hygiene.htm |
