It’s Flu
Season
The
following information has been shared with school districts about the
enterovirus, flu season, and Ebola virus from the United States Department of
Education. If you have any questions, please contact the your child's school
nurse or the Reading Public School's Director of Nurses Lynn Dunn at lynn.dunn@reading.k12.ma.us.
Enterovirus
Every
year, millions of children in the United States get enterovirus infections that
can cause coughing, sneezing, and fever. This
year, children throughout the country have gotten sick with respiratory
illnesses caused by enterovirus D-68 (EV-D68). EV-D68 is one of many
enteroviruses that often spread in the summer and fall. It’s not a new virus,
but it hasn’t been very common in the past. However, this year, EV-D68 is the
most common enterovirus that’s going around.
Since
you may not have heard of EV-D68 before, better understanding of how to prevent
the virus and the symptoms that this virus can cause can help you protect your
children.
What
are the signs and symptoms of EV-D68?
Most
children who get infected with EV-D68 may have cold-like symptoms, like fever,
runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and body and muscle aches. More severe symptoms
include wheezing and difficulty breathing. Children with asthma are at risk for
severe symptoms from EV-D68.
How
can I protect my children/students?
You
can help protect yourself and others from respiratory illnesses, including
EV-D68, by following these steps:
§ Wash hands often with soap and water for 20
seconds
§ Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed
hands
§ Avoid close contact, such as kissing, hugging, and
sharing cups or eating utensils, with people who are sick, or when you are
sick
§ Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or shirt
sleeve, not your hands
§ Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as
toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick
§ Stay home when you are sick and keep sick children home
from school
Could
my child get EV-D68?
EV-D68
spreads when people infected with the virus cough, sneeze, or touch surfaces
that are then touched by others. In general, infants, children, and teenagers
are at higher risk than adults for getting infected and sick with enteroviruses
like EV-D68. That's because they have not been exposed to these types of viruses
before, and they do not yet have immunity (protection) built up to fight the
disease. If your child has asthma, he or she may be at greater risk for severe
respiratory illness from EV-D68.
If
your child has asthma, CDC recommends you do the following to help maintain
control of your child’s asthma during this time:
§ Discuss and update your child’s asthma action plan with
your child’s doctor (usually pulmonologist or pediatrician).
§ Make sure your child takes prescribed asthma medications
as directed, especially long term control medication(s).
§ Make sure your child knows to keep asthma reliever
medication with him or her or has access to it at all times.
§ Get your child a flu vaccine, since flu can trigger an
asthma attack.
§ If your child develops new or worsening asthma symptoms,
follow the steps in his or her asthma action plan. If your symptoms do not go
away, call your child’s doctor right away.
§ Make sure caregiver(s) and/or teacher(s) are aware of the
child’s condition, and that they know how to help if the he or she experiences
any symptoms related to asthma.
§ Call your child's doctor if he or she is having
difficulty breathing, if you feel you are unable to control symptoms, or if
symptoms are getting worse.
Summary
There
is no specific treatment for EV-D68. Talk to your child's doctor about the best
way to control his or her symptoms.
Remember,
that while this has been a big year for EV-D68 infections, CDC expects the
number of cases to taper off by late fall. But even after cases of EV-D68 begin
to decrease, parents and children should continue to follow basic steps to stay
healthy, such as frequent hand washing and avoiding touching their faces with
unwashed hands. To help your family stay healthy this fall and winter, CDC
recommends that everyone age 6 months and older get an annual flu
vaccine.
For
more information on:
§ EV-D68 in the U.S., visit http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/outbreaks/EV-D68-outbreaks.html
Flu
Season is Upon Us
Remember
too, as enterovirus season is expected to taper off, flu activity usually begins
to increase in October. While there is not a vaccine to prevent illness from
enteroviruses, the single best way to protect against the flu is to get
vaccinated each year. Many resources for parents and others can be found on
the CDC
flu web site.
CDC recommends that ALL children
6 months old or older get a flu vaccine.
Ebola
Virus
Finally,
we know your communities may also have questions about what schools can do to
keep students and adults safe from the Ebola virus. The CDC is continually
updating
its
information on Ebola, information that can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html.
The
Office of Safe and Healthy Students has a number of materials available
regarding Readiness and Emergency Management of Schools in crisis situations,
and those materials can be found here: http://rems.ed.gov/.
One resource at this web link is steps the Dallas Independent School District
(DISD) has taken to keep parents and community partners continually updated on
the Ebola situation there, including establishing a web site: http://www.dallasisd.org/healthupdates.
Additional
materials developed by the DISD Communications Team included there
are:
John F. Doherty, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Reading Public Schools
82 Oakland Road
Reading, MA 01867
781-944-5800
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