Pflugerville ISD Proactive Against H1N1

As Seasonal Flu and Novel H1N1 flu spreads in Texas, the Pflugerville ISD continues to take every possible precaution to help ensure the health and safety of its students and staff. The District is monitoring absences and illness trends carefully. As is its practice with other illness notifications, the school nurse will send out campus-specific information as the number of reported cases and/or severity warrants or when local health authorities advise that it is prudent to do so.

The District continues to work with state and local officials, as well as other school Districts in the area, to monitor the spread of the flu and stay updated on the status of the flu and efforts to combat it.

Based upon local and state health department reports, occurrences of Novel H1N1 flu are widespread throughout the region and individuals at almost every campus in the District have been diagnosed with flu or flu symptoms. People who have Novel H1N1 flu usually have a fever and many experience coughing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and/or a runny nose and sore throat. The majority of the patients with this flu have reported that the symptoms are mild and they have recovered fully. If students, family members, or staff experiences any of the symptoms of H1N1 they should call their personal healthcare providers for guidance regarding evaluation and treatment. Additional information about the flu is available at the PISD website and at www.texasflu.org.

What can families do?

• Staying home when you have the flu is one way to help others from getting sick. PISD school nurses are carefully monitoring students and staff who have temperatures or report that they are not feeling well. They will send home anyone who has a fever of more than 100.4° F. These individuals will not be allowed to return to school until they have had no fever for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medications.

What can the District do?

• Custodial staff has redoubled daily efforts to keep campuses clean with a focus on high contact areas such as door handles and faucets. Faculty and staff have been asked to assist in the cleaning process by wiping down desks and high contact areas in their classrooms and work areas.
• Timing at automatic hand washing stations on campuses has been increased to 10-20 seconds to give students the additional time recommended for proper hand washing.
• Good health practice guidelines have been shared with campus administrators to distribute among students and staff, with many campuses posting the information on websites as well.
• New reminder messages have been posted at all campuses reminding people of the importance of covering coughs, cleaning hands, and taking a flu break from school if they are ill.
• The District has established a Health and Safety Team that meets regularly to monitor the spread of flu, identify protocols to mitigate the spread of the disease, and plans for what procedures and programs would be needed should a school or school activity be cancelled to reduce the spread of the disease. Based on the current severity of the disease, school closure is not recommended for disease control.
• Plans are underway to make available to students and staff the vaccines for both the Seasonal flu and the Novel H1N1 flu. It is important to remember that the Novel H1N1 vaccine will not be available until October and likely will require two doses to be effective.
• As an extra precaution, guests to campuses, including parents, visitors and volunteers, are asked to sanitize their hands upon arrival at the campus and to reschedule visits and appointments if they are ill.

Preventing the Flu: Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs

Good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that help treat and sometimes prevent the flu, but the best defense is a good offense.

1. Avoid close contact.
   Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
2. Stay home when you are sick.
   Stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. See your doctor and follow their advice. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
3. Cover your mouth and nose.
   Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
4. Clean your hands.
   Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water is not available, then use hand sanitizer. Remind students to do this before and after restroom visits, before and after eating, when arriving at school in the morning and before leaving in the afternoon, before and after playing outside or going to gym.
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
   Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
6. Practice other good health habits.
   Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

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