KCISD ALERT PAGE

H1N1 Influenza (Flu) Information

Action Steps for Parents to Protect Your Child and Family from the Flu this School Year

September 25, 9:30 AM ET (taken from the CDC website)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 4 main ways you and your family may keep from getting sick with the flu at school and at home:

1. Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.  If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder; not into your hands.

3. Stay home if you or your child is sick for at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine). Keeping sick students at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than sharing them with others.

4. Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available.

If flu conditions become MORE severe, parents should consider the following steps:

• Extend the time sick children stay home for at least 7 days, even if they feel better sooner. People who are still sick after 7 days should continue to stay home until at least 24 hours after symptoms have completely gone away.

• If a household member is sick, keep any school-aged brothers or sisters home for 5 days from the time the household member became sick. Parents should monitor their health and the health of other school-aged children for fever and other symptoms of the flu.

Follow these steps to prepare for the flu during the 2009-2010 school year:

• Plan for child care at home if your child gets sick or their school is dismissed.
• Plan to monitor the health of the sick child and any other children in the household by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.
• Identify if you have children who are at higher risk of serious disease from the flu and talk to your healthcare provider about a plan to protect them during the flu season.  Children at high risk of serious disease from the flu include: children under 5 years of age and those children with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.
• Identify a separate room in the house for the care of sick family members.
• Update emergency contact lists.
• Collect games, books, DVDs and other items to keep your family entertained if schools are dismissed or your child is sick and must stay home.

Talk to your school administrators about their pandemic or emergency plan.

For more information:

• Visit: www.flu.gov
• Contact CDC 24 Hours/Every Day
  • 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)
  • TTY: (888)232-6348
  • cdcinfo@cdc.gov

KCISD Flu Prevention Efforts

  These are some of the preventative actions that we are taking at KCISD to keep your students healthy:

• Educate and encourage students and staff to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze. Also, provide them with easy access to tissues and running water and soap or alcohol-based hand cleaners.  Remind them to cover coughs or sneezes using their elbow instead of their hand when a tissue is not available.
• Remind teachers, staff, and students to practice good hand hygiene and provide the time and supplies for them to wash their hands as often as necessary.
• Send sick students, teachers, and staff home and advise them and their families that sick people should stay at home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).
• Clean surfaces and items daily that are more likely to have frequent hand contact such as desks, door knobs, keyboards, or pens, with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas.
• Move students, teachers, and staff to a separate room if they become sick at school until they can be sent home. Limit the number of staff who take care of the sick person and provide a surgical mask for the sick person to wear if they can tolerate it.
• Have Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks available and ensure the equipment is worn by school nurses and other staff caring for sick people at school.
• Encourage early medical evaluation for sick students and staff at higher risk of complications from flu.  People at high risk of flu complications who get sick will benefit from early treatment with antiviral medicines.
• Stay in regular communication with local public health officials.

Informational Flyers

For More Information visit the following websites:

Texas Dept. of State Health Services

CDC H1N1 Flu Information

Beaumont City Health - Swine Flu Information