CDC releases updated flu guidance for back-to-school

ATLANTA The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released updated guidance for school administrators and state and local governments to help decrease the spread of flu among students and school staff during the 2009-2010 school year.

Approximately 55 million students and 7 million staff attend the more than 130,000 public and private schools in the United States each day, the CDC noted, representing about one-fifth of the country’s population.

In a nutshell, in lieu of closing schools outright at the first hint of influenza-like illness, CDC is suggesting that sick kids and teachers stay home and that children and teachers attending schools emphasize illness etiquette — i.e., washing hands, covering mouth when coughing/sneezing and proper disposal of tissues.

The CDC is suggesting that ill students and staff be quarantined in a separate room until they can be sent home. CDC also recommends that they wear a surgical mask, if possible, and that those who care for ill students and staff wear protective gear such as a mask.

Based on the severity of 2009 H1N1 flu-related illness thus far, the CDC guidance recommends that students and staff with influenza-like illness remain home until 24 hours after resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. However, special cleaning with bleach and other non-detergent-based cleaners is not necessary, the CDC stated.

The guidance also provides a checklist for making decisions at the local government level, which is usually tasked with the decision around possible school closures. The decision to dismiss students should balance the goal of reducing the number of people who become seriously ill or die from influenza with the goal of minimizing social disruption and safety risks to children sometimes associated with school dismissal. Based on the experience and knowledge gained in jurisdictions that had large outbreaks in spring 2009, the potential benefits of preemptively dismissing students from school are often outweighed by negative consequences, including students being left home alone, health workers missing shifts when they must stay home with their children, students missing meals, and interruption of students’ education. CDC expects that the overall impact of 2009 H1N1 should be greater as compared to earlier this spring, and school dismissals may be in fact be warranted depending on the disease burden and other conditions.