With flu season approaching, the William S. Hart Union High School District has posted an information sheet from the California Department of Education and a Question-and-Answer sheet on the H1N1 Flu on the district Web site, where it is available to parents and staff members.
Both documents deal with H1N1 (swine) flu and “regular” seasonal flu and offer ways to identify symptoms and prevent spread of the diseases. Tips for controlling spread of the flu include proper hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding people who are sick. Both staff and students are encouraged to stay home when sick, and remain at home until 24 hours after the temperature has returned to normal without the help of fever-reducing medicines. No doctor’s note is required for readmission.
Although flu germs can remain on hard surfaces after a sick person coughs or sneezes on them, proper hand-washing technique is more effective than stringent disinfection programs. It is not necessary to disinfect these surfaces beyond routine cleaning procedures and cleaning solutions, according to Hart District Supervisor of Health Services Christine Amstutz, RN, MN.
Since screening for H1N1 flu and reporting of individual cases is not required, it will be virtually impossible to track the number of H1N1 cases in local schools as opposed to those with seasonal flu and others with flu-like symptoms. “H1N1 is the flu and the flu is the flu,” Amstutz emphasized. “Stay home!”
The district’s fact sheet and flu information sheet are available on the Web at www.hartdistrict.org by clicking on “Flu Facts” in the Quick Links box. District schools also are being encouraged to post a link to the documents from their own Web sites.