Feds urge schools to stay open during flu outbreaks this fall

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today advised schools to send sick kids home during a flu outbreak, but not to close schools unless they serve a student body that is all or mostly high risk, for example, schools for pregnant students.

In early May, several schools in New Mexico were closed as students became sickened by the H1N1 flu (also known as swine flu). Days later, when authorities changed course and said there was no reason for them to close, New Mexico schools scrambled to reopen.

The New Mexico had its first H1N1 flu death over the weekend.

A 45-year-old woman from Sierra County with end-stage liver disease died after being hospitalized since July 25.

“It is now clear closure of schools is rarely indicated,” Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday. “Even if H1N1 is in the school, there are measures we can take to protect the students, to protect the staff and allow learning to continue.”

In case of an outbreak about as severe as the one last spring, CDC now recommends:

• Stay home when sick: Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs. (For more information, go here.)
• Separate ill students and staff: Students and staff who appear to have flu-like illness should be sent to a room separate from others until they can be sent home. CDC recommends that they wear a surgical mask, if possible, and that those who care for ill students and staff wear protective gear such as a mask.
• Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette: The new recommendations emphasize the importance of the basic foundations of influenza prevention: stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).
• Routine cleaning: School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. Special cleaning with bleach and other non-detergent-based cleaners is not necessary.
• Early treatment of high-risk students and staff: People at high risk for influenza complications who become ill with influenza-like illness should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible.  Early treatment with antiviral medications is very important for people at high risk because it can prevent hospitalizations and deaths. People at high risk include those who are pregnant, have asthma or diabetes, have compromised immune systems, or have neuromuscular diseases.
• Consideration of selective school dismissal: Although there are not many schools where all or most students are at high risk (for example, schools for medically fragile children or for pregnant students) a community might decide to dismiss such a school to better protect these high-risk students.

For even more information, go to flu.gov.