5/11/09
Dear Parents,
Public Health – Madison and Dane County has notified us that a student or staff person at (MGHS/GDS) has been diagnosed with H1N1 Influenza (swine flu). This person will be staying home until they are well and can no longer spread the infection. However, this influenza might have spread before the person felt ill, so more cases in the school are likely.
It now appears that this influenza is not as dangerous as it was feared at first. It is not a cause for undo alarm. Still, people with H1N1 are often uncomfortably sick. Also, people with other health problems may get sicker with this influenza, just as they would with the annual, seasonal influenza.
The school will remain open as usual. After-school activities will go on as scheduled. Initially in this outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that when H1N1 influenza was diagnosed in a child or school staff, that the school be closed. We now know that closing schools does not prevent spread of the disease and that school closure is very disruptive to students and families.
Here’s what you can do to help prevent further spread of this disease:
• Wash your hands and make sure your children are washing their hands even more frequently than usual.
• If you are coughing, cover your mouth with a tissue or by coughing into your sleeve.
• If anyone in your family develops symptoms of influenza, they should stay home and not have visitors. Call your doctor. If you do not have health insurance, call Public Health – Madison and Dane County at 266-4821. The sick person should stay home for 7 days or until 24 hours after their symptoms have disappeared, whichever is longest.
• If your child has symptoms of influenza, avoid using aspirin or medications with aspirin, since it could cause Reye’s syndrome, a serious illness.
• If someone in your family becomes severely ill with this influenza or develops influenza symptoms and is at higher risk for complications, you should call your health care provider for possible treatment. Those at higher risk for problems with influenza include children younger than 5 years, people 65 years of age and older, pregnant women, and people with some chronic illnesses,
Symptoms of H1N1 Influenza are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue.
The best sources of information about H1N1 influenza are these websites:
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu and www.publichealthmdc.com
If you have further questions about H1N1 influenza, call your health care provider, 211, or Public Health – Madison and Dane County at 266-4821
Sincerely,
Lynn Hanson, RN, MGSD nurse
Glacial Drumlin School 839-8460
Monona Grove High School 221-7666 ext. 2013
Fortunatly H1N1 is not as dangerous as once feared, however it does illustrate our interconnected society's vulnerability to the rapid spread of disease despite containment efforts.
Wishing those effected a speedy recovery... and don't forget to wash your hands!
1 comment:
People should know that most clinics are no longer testing for swine flu. If you call in hopes that you or your child will be tested, you probably won't be due to backlogs at the lab that is doing these tests. That's what our clinic told us this weekend (Group Health Cooperative). So we will not know the extent to which this will spread through our schools except by the number of absences.
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