Flu Information and Updates

FLU PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

Get your flu shot - you need both the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines this year

 If you have the flu, you should:

Stay home, follow your doctor's orders, and watch for signs that you need immediate medical attention.  Remain at home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer.

Avoid close contact with others, especially those who might easily get the flu, such as people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), pregnant women, young children, and infants.

Wear a facemask - if available and tolerable - when sharing common spaces with other household members to help prevent spreading the virus to others. This is especially important if other household members are at high risk for complications from influenza.

Get plenty of rest.

Drink clear fluids such as water, broth, sports drinks, or electrolyte beverages made for infants to prevent becoming dehydrated.

Cover coughs and sneezes.

Clean hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often, especially after using tissues and after coughing or sneezing into your hands.

Most people with 2009 H1N1 have had mild illness and have not needed medical care or antiviral drugs and the same is true of seasonal flu.

Also, it's possible for healthy people to develop severe illness from the flu so anyone concerned about their illness should consult a health care provider.

  FLU ILLNESS

How do I know if I have the flu?

Seasonal Flu	H1N1 Flu
All types of flu can cause: Fever Coughing and/or sore throat Runny or stuffy nose Headaches and/or body aches Chills Fatigue	Same as seasonal flu, but symptoms may be more severe. Fever Coughing and/or sore throat Runny or stuffy nose Headaches and/or body aches Chills Fatigue In addition to the above symptoms, a number of H1N1 flu cases reported: Vomiting Diarrhea

 CLEANING

How long can influenza virus remain viable on objects (such as books and doorknobs)?
Influenza virus can survive and infect a person for 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on the surface.



What household cleaning should be done to prevent the spread of influenza virus?
To prevent the spread of influenza virus it is important to keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, kitchen counters and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label.


How should linens, eating utensils and dishes of persons infected with influenza virus be handled?
Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first.

Linens (such as bed sheets and towels) should be washed by using household laundry soap and tumbled dry on a hot setting. Individuals should avoid "hugging" laundry prior to washing it to prevent contaminating themselves.

Individuals should wash their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub immediately after handling dirty laundry.   

Eating utensils should be washed either in a dishwasher or by hand with water and soap.

How should waste disposal be handled to prevent the spread of influenza virus?
Tissues and other disposable items used by an infected person should be thrown in the trash. Additionally, persons should wash their hands with soap and water after touching used tissues and similar waste.

What surfaces are most likely to be sources of contamination?
Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. Germs can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk, for example, and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

Information on thie page was obtained from the cdc.gov and flu.gov websites.
Link to CDC website:    http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
Link to WHO website: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
www.flu.gov

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