Flu in South Carolina

Schools and Child Care Centers

infantTwo types of contagious flu viruses are active in South Carolina this year — seasonal flu and novel H1N1 flu (swine flu). Both types can cause mild to severe respiratory illness and can even lead to death.

Children — especially children under 2 years of age — face higher than normal risk of complications.

Symptoms of Seasonal Flu and Novel H1N1 Flu

The flu is different from the common cold . But symptoms of seasonal flu and novel H1N1 flu are very similar.

When a person gets seasonal or novel H1N1 flu, one or more of these symptoms will probably come on suddenly — about 48 to 72 hours after contact with the virus:

  • Fever (usually high)
  • Headache
  • Extreme tiredness
  • Dry cough
  • Sore throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Muscle aches

Occasionally, stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Urgent Warning Signs

These symptoms indicate that a student or staff member needs immediate medical attention:

In children:

  • Fast breathing or trouble breathing
  • Bluish skin color
  • Not drinking enough fluids
  • Not waking up or not interacting
  • Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
  • Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
  • Fever with a rash.

In adults:

  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
  • Sudden dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Severe or persistent vomiting.

Letters About Flu Sent to Parents and School Personnel in 2009-10

Here are copies of letters about flu sent by DHEC and the S.C. Department of Education to parents and school personnel in 2009-10:

Advice for K-12 Schools and Early Child Care Centers

School ChildrenHere are ways that your school and child care center can help prevent and slow the spread of seasonal and novel H1N1 flu among students, staff and families:

  • Encourage staff and students to learn the facts about vaccination and get vaccinated against seasonal flu and novel H1N1 flu.
  • Advise parents to talk with their healthcare provider about getting their families immunized.
  • Tell staff and parents about Web sites that can help them find DHEC flu clinics and locate clinics offered by other community providers.
  • Follow the DHEC exclusion criteria for students and staff. Require children and staff to stay home if they have a fever of 100°F or higher with a cough or sore throat. Require them to stay home until their fever has been gone for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications. In most cases children and staff with the flu will miss 3 to 5 days.
  • Separate ill students and staff from the rest of the school population until they can go home.
  • Recommend that staff and parents of children who have flu-like symptoms see their health care provider right away if they are at high risk for complications from the flu. Early treatment with antiviral medications may help lessen the symptoms. Those at high risk include:
    • Children younger than 5 years old
    • Children younger than 18 years who are on long-term aspirin treatment
    • Children and adults who have chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes or other lung, heart, liver, blood, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders
    • Children and adults with weak immune systems
    • Pregnant women, and
    • People aged 65 years or older.
  • Expect and plan for higher than normal faculty and staff absences this flu season. If you don’t already have one, establish a list of on-call workers to cover for staff who are ill.
  • Consider how policies can be changed to support rather than penalize staff who must miss work because they are ill with the flu. Keep in mind that when symptoms are mild, the employee may not need to see a health care provider.
  • Encourage staff and students to wash their hands often with soap and water. Ask them to get into the habit of washing their hands for about as long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice.
  • Child care centers:  Check children daily for signs or symptoms of illness.
  • Ask staff and students to cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when they cough or sneeze and throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Encourage staff and students to eat a healthy diet, exercise and get plenty of rest.
  • Frequently wipe down commonly touched surfaces like stairway railings, telephones, door handles and toys. Otherwise, follow your normal housekeeping routine. Get additional information on environmental disinfection to prevent flu from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • Download, post and distribute free DHEC flu materials
  • Post copies of these letters sent by DHEC and the S.C. Department of Education:
  • Educate parents, staff and students about the dangers of giving aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to children or teenagers who have the flu. This can cause a rare but serious illness called Reye’s syndrome.
  • Consider selective school dismissal in flu outbreaks, especially if your school has a sizeable number of medically fragile or pregnant students.

Novel H1N1 Flu and Seasonal Flu Vaccines

Flu vaccines are your staff and students’ best protection against seasonal and novel H1N1 flu. The CDC has produced information sheets, called Vaccine Information Statements (VISs), to explain the benefits and risks of the seasonal and novel H1N1 flu vaccines.

Each strain requires a separate vaccine. Seasonal flu vaccines are widely available and, fortunately, drug makers have recently developed a vaccine for novel H1N1 flu.

People who are in greater danger of life-threatening health problems from novel H1N1 flu or seasonal flu, should get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The CDC also urges anyone who lives or works closely with an at-risk person (such as infants, children and adolescents) — to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

School Vaccination Clinics for Novel H1N1 Flu

The CDC has posted information to help you plan a school vaccination clinic. The Web site includes important information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

These Groups Need Flu Vaccines the Most

The CDC recommends that these groups get flu vaccines as soon as possible.

The list for seasonal flu is different from the list for novel H1N1 flu.

These People Should
Get a Seasonal Flu Vaccine
ASAP
These People Should
Get a Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Vaccine ASAP
Those age 50 and older Pregnant women
Pregnant women Household contacts and caregivers for babies younger than 6 months of age
Children 6 months to 18 years of age Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel
People of any age who have chronic medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, lung disease) All children from 6 months to 17 years of age
People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities Young adults 18 to 24 years of age
People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu. People 25 through 64 years of age who have health conditions that put them at higher risk of medical complications from flu.

Get updates on vaccine availability in South Carolina, learn more about vaccine safety, and find a flu vaccine clinic in your local area.

For more information on flu vaccines, see these CDC resources:

School Closings

For information on school closings, contact your local public school district or private school.

School Flu Planning

K-12 Schools

Child Care Centers & Early Childhood Programs

Colleges and Universities

Flu Information in Other Languages:

If, after reading the information available here, you have questions about the 2009 H1N1 vaccine,
please call 1-800-27SHOTS (1-800-277-4687).

Flu.gov