October 23, 2009

Joint Madison County Department of Heath/Madison Oneida BOCES PRESS Release...

At today’s meeting with the Madison County Department of Health, Madison-Oneida BOCES component school districts had an opportunity to ask questions and receive updates regarding influenza. For the last 3 years, the Madison County Department of Health and local school districts have continuously communicated and coordinated efforts throughout the typical flu season. This coordination includes communication strategies with parents to limit spread of infection, discussions of potential vaccination clinics, and opportunities for school leaders to obtain guidance from the County Health Department.

The Madison County Health Department reinforced the methodologies to prevent the spread of flu such as:

• Students & Staff should stay home when sick. Stay home until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reduc¬ing medication). • Encourage coughing and sneezing etiquette. • Wash your hands frequently using soap and water. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers may be used when soap and water are unavailable. • Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact such as desks, door knobs, keyboards, or pens, with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas. • If you are pregnant, have asthma, diabetes, or other conditions that put you at higher risk for complications from the flu, you should speak with your doctor as soon as possible if you develop symptoms of flu-like illness. • If you have children, plan ahead for child care if your child gets sick.

While the Madison County Department of Health indicates that this could be a strong flu season, testing is limited as to specific strains of infection except for severe illness or hospitalization. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain a general update. No specific plan of action was determined as each school district is following the guidance from the Center for Disease Control and the county health departments. Further information regarding influenza can be found at the following web site: www.healthymadisoncounty.org.