Flu prevention tips to teachers

Fending off a flu outbreak
Salinas: Workshop teaches educators how to stop transmissions
By CLARISSA ALJENTERA
Herald Staff Writer

Weeks before the flu could hit Monterey County, educators were preparing for a worst-case outbreak Wednesday in a workshop in Salinas.

While nobody is predicting a pandemic this winter, teachers and administrators gathered to learn how to keep the flu from spreading beyond the classroom. Educators ranging from preschool teachers to college professors met at Sherwood Hall for the seminar.

"You are the conduit to parents and students," said Hugh Stallworth, Monterey County health officer.

A number of tips were presented to help stop the spread of germs, including covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough, washing your hands and using gel sanitizers or alcohol-based hand wipes.

An official at the Immunization Branch of the state Department of Health Services said the ability to spread germs is much greater in school because children are in such close proximity for much of the day.

Most important, Stallworth said, is that people who are starting to develop flu-like symptoms should not come to work or school.

Stallworth said the county Health Department will schedule a summit for business owners in October.

He outlined how pandemics start, giving a history of avian flu -- the current focus of pandemic fears -- and how it can spread.

In the past 90 years, three flu pandemics have been reported, the latest in 1968. The possibility of another pandemic is real, Stallworth said.

The state Department of Education circulated a checklist to schools regarding pandemic flu Sept. 13, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell urged schools to be ready.

"While we hope a pandemic never occurs, schools must be prepared to help protect the health and safety of staff and students," O'Connell said in a written release. "These planning checklists will help to protect our children by minimizing the impact to their education should a pandemic force school closures for any length of time. It is vitally important that our education systems and health services agencies work together to protect lives in the future should a pandemic occur."

A pandemic flu would start when a new flu virus develops and begins to spread worldwide. Avian flu has the potential to change and become dangerous for human-to-human contact, which might lead to a pandemic.

For information, visit www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/fluinfo.asp.