We are working closely with the NY State Education Department and the Erie County Health Department to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning schools. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.

If the flu becomes more severe, we may take additional steps to prevent the spread of flu. For now we are doing everything we can to keep our school functioning as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help.

• Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.

• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.

• Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.

• Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

For more information, see the links below and visit www.flu.gov, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu. We will notify you of any additional changes to our school's strategy to prevent the spread of flu.

Links

Current CDC info on H1N1 Flu

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Parent Guide on Seasonal and H1N1 Flu

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/freeresources/2009-10/pdf/pan_flu_reversed.pdf

Eight Ways to Keep Yourself Healthy

http://www.flu.gov/professional/business/employeefactsheet.html

NYSDOH Parent Fact Sheet 

http://www.schoolhealthservicesny.com/uploads/H1N1%20Information%20St%20P.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What can a parent do to prepare for flu during the 2009-2010 school year?

• Plan for child care at home if your child gets sick or their school is dismissed (for a minimum of 5 school days).
• Plan to monitor the health of the sick child and any other children by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.
• Update emergency contact lists.
• Identify a separate room in the house for care of sick family members. Consider designating a single person as the main caregiver for anyone who gets sick.

• Pull together games, books, DVDs and other items to keep your family entertained while at home.
• Talk to your school about their flu pandemic or emergency plan.
• Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available.

Q. Should family members of sick students stay home too?

Not unless the flu conditions are determined to be more severe. If flu conditions are more severe, school-aged children should also stay home for 5 days from the time someone in their home became sick. It is possible that family members could already be sick with flu and not be showing symptoms yet. The 5-day period provides enough time to know if anyone else is sick with flu. Parents should continue to monitor their health and the health of the sick child, as well as the health of their other children.

Q. How will the decision be made to dismiss schools?

The decision to dismiss students will be made at the community level. School officials

will work closely with their local and state public health and government officials to make sound decisions, based on local conditions. The decision will consider:

• the number and severity of cases in an outbreak (looking at national, regional, and local data),
• the risks of flu spread and benefits of dismissal,
• the problems that school dismissal can cause for families and communities, and different types of dismissal (selective, reactive, and preemptive).

CDC may recommend preemptive dismissals based on information that the outbreak is becoming more severe. An increase in flu spread without an impact on disease outcomes will not lead to the use of preemptive dismissals in most cases.