News of the Day: Schools prepare for H1N1 flu

The Chicago Tribune has an excellent back-to-school article about how schools are preparing for the upcoming flu season.

"As far as being a bellwether and a potential hot spot for epidemics, schools are probably No. 1 on the list," said Bill Mays, community health director with the Lake County Health Department.

How schools handle the virus is shaped by health experts. Last spring, when the first cases were diagnosed in the U.S., the federal government urged schools to shut down for up to 14 days if they had a confirmed case. More than 700 schools in the nation closed, including nearly three dozen in the Chicago area.

But schools this year likely will be slower to call off classes, based on new information. The CDC now says schools should be conservative about closing entirely. The agency instead urges parents to check their children each morning for flulike symptoms and keep them home from school if they have a fever.

What's more, the CDC has changed its recommendation about when students can return to class after a bout of swine flu. Previously, it said that students with confirmed cases should stay home for up to seven days. Now it's saying that students can return to class 24 hours after the fever ends.

"We can't stop the tide of flu, but we can reduce the number of people who become very ill by preparing well and acting effectively," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC.

According to the CDC, students should:

• 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. (Visit for more information)


• 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).

UPDATED: The Department of Education, in conjunction with the CDC, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security have issued federal guidelines with many options for schools during the 2009 H1N1 flu season.