Preparing Schools For Swine Flu (H1N1)
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 12:18PM Print Article 
The H1N1 virus, also known as "swine flu" and "swine Influenza A" is a virus that can spread from people who are infected to others through coughs and sneezes. The Swine flu is being referred to as a Pandemic flu because it is occurring globally. When people cough or sneeze, they spread germs through the air or onto surfaces that other people may touch. H1N1 virus is not transmitted from pigs to humans or from eating pork products. 10 Things you should know about Pandemic Flu.
- Pandemic flu is more severe than seasonal flu
- Pandemic flu will be global
- Avoid getting any flu by washing your hands
- Pandemic flu vaccine will not be available at onset of flu season
- Pandemic flu and bird flu is not the same thing
- Pandemic flu may cause widespread social and economic disruption
- It may be difficult to work through a pandemic flu
- Pandemic flu can overwhelm the healthcare system
- Communities must do their part to fight the Pandemic flu
- Make a household plan and stock up with supplies
With many classes resuming in just five weeks, school districts are making plans to deal with the H1N1 flu virus.Experts think the H1N1 outbreak we've seen so far is nothing compared to what we will see when flu season starts up again this fall, and if things continue as they did this spring, schools could face some of the toughest challenges dealing with it. That's why Gov. Jodi Rell held a flu forum for school officials at Southern Connecticut State University. "We were sort of hit all of a sudden with 'Oh my god, it's here, how do we handle it,'" Rell said.
With today's forum on H1N1, Governor Rell hopes to help school officials answer that question. In the spring, Westbrook schools had a student who was a probable case of H1N1 on a field trip. "We called all of the parents in the class, and particularly the parents of kids on that bus so that they would be aware that their children were exposed," said Patricia Charles, Superintendent of Westbrook Schools. That kind of communication is exactly what the experts recommend. "And obviously reinforcing to families that if your students are sick, keep them home. It's best to be home," said Leonard Guercia, CT Dept. of Public Health. As they found out at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, a school is the perfect place to spread germs. They have 37 cases of H1N1 there right now. They isolated cadets and brought in medical teams from Washington. But local school districts don't have those resources. In May and June, some schools opted to close and scrub down the building when H1N1 hit.
The trouble is, experts say cleaning the school or the bus does not seem to help. "It's not been proven epidemiologically to stem the spread of the disease. Again, it's really a person to person disease, so coughing and those kind of things," said Guercia. So the biggest message from this forum turns out to be that the smallest things are the most effective. "Simple things like washing your hands and staying home when you're sick - I know they seem like boring routine messages, but they’re very important, “Guercia said. The federal government hopes to have a vaccine ready for use by the fall. Experts think the upcoming flu season will be much worse than the spring outbrea
(Excerpts from forum for educators about dealing with an outbreak by Ken Pierce, July 22, 2009)