SWINE FLU BULLETIN

This letter is to notify you of the recommendations that have been established by the CDC and Texas Department of Health Services regarding the swine flu and how it is to be managed in a school setting. This guidance is designed to decrease exposure to regular seasonal flu and H1N1 flu while limiting the disruption of day-to-day activities and vital learning that goes on in schools.

• Stay home when sick:

Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. Symptoms of flu are: fever greater than 100⁰ AND cough or sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue and some with H1N1 also report runny nose, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea.

• Separate ill students and other people:

Send students and staff who appear to have flu-like illness to a separate room from other until they can be sent home. Those caring for the ill should wear protective mask.

• Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette:

Wash hands frequently and cover mouths with tissue when coughing or sneezing (or shirt sleeve if tissue not available)

• Routine cleaning:

School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often

• Early treatment of high-risk students and staff:

High risk people includes those who are pregnant, have asthma or diabetes, small children under 5, adults over 65, and those with compromised immune systems.

If severity of the flu is worse than in the spring of 2009, the CDC recommends additional measures. These include:

• Active screening:

Schools should check students and staff for fever and other symptoms of flu when they get to school in the morning, separate those who are ill, and send them home as soon as possible. This should continue throughout the day.

• High-risk students and staff members stay home:

High risk people should talk to the doctors about staying home when a lot of flu is circulating. Schools should prepare for these absences.

• Students with ill household members stay home:

Students who have an ill household member should stay home for 5 days from the day the first household member got sick. This is the time period they are most likely to get sick themselves.

• Increase distance between people at schools:

CDC encourages schools to move desks farther apart and not mix kids from one class to another.

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• Extend the period for ill persons to stay home:

If the severity of the flu increases, people should stay home for at least 7 days, even if they have no more symptoms. If they people are still sick after 7 days, they should stay home until 24 hours after they have no symptoms.

• School dismissals:

The CDC does not recommend dismissals unless the majority of school is sick, a high number of high-risk people are in the school, staff illness creates shortages, or the severity of the symptoms increases. Schools that do dismiss should do so for 5-7 days. In the event of school closure, schools should encourage parents and children to limit group activities and social gatherings (trips to mall, movie theaters, sporting, etc).

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please call me at the school. Thank you for your attentiveness to this issue.

Cindy Clifton R.N.

Gordon ISD school nurse