H1N1 Virus

The Charlevoix Public Schools are working closely with the Health Department of Northwest Michigan to monitor flu conditions in Charlevoix. Local physicians are following the national guidelines for flu diagnosis provided to them by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Those guidelines do not include the use of lab testing to determine if the particular strain of the flu that is present in the patient is the new H1N1 virus. As a result, it is highly unlikely that the Charlevoix Public Schools will receive any authoritative medical confirmation about the presence of H1N1 among our students. The physicians and Health Department further indicate that the symptoms and treatment for each strain of the flu, including H1N1, are identical.

From the school district’s perspective, we will assume that any case of the flu among any of our students has the potential to be the H1N1 strain. Because the symptoms and treatment for H1N1 are the same, our district’s response to flu-like conditions in the district will continue to follow Health Department and CDC recommendations as well, and will focus on prevention. With that in mind, we want to remind you that you can help reduce the spread of the flu in our school and community by:

 Reminding your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.

 Reminding your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils.

 Reminding your children to cover up their coughs or sneezes by using the elbow, arm or sleeve, instead of their hand.

In addition to the student behaviors, we also want to remind you to:

 Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms include fever (100 degrees or greater), cough, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, body aches, headache and fatigue. Some people also experience vomiting or diarrhea.

 Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing medication (Motrin, Tylenol, etc). Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected with the flu.

 Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

Our custodial staff in the three school buildings will also be taking a more aggressive and proactive approach to keeping the buildings germ-free and using approved cleaning materials to combat the spread of the flu virus.

Please be aware that we are also in the process of scheduling school-based H1N1 vaccination clinics with the Health Department. We expect that our clinics will be held in November, and all parents will receive notice of the clinics in a separate mailing. The H1N1 flu vaccines offered through these Health Department clinics will be administered free of charge. Consent forms will be required and will be included in the mailing.

If your child has been sick during the week and missed school, our principals and teachers will work with any student who has an extended absence to provide a reasonable amount of time to make up any class work that they may have missed.

For more information about flu prevention, you can also visit the following websites: http://www.flu.gov, which provides additional information through the Center for Disease Control (CDC). A particularly informative link about H1N1 and the seasonal flu is at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/takingcare.htm.

Thank you for your efforts to help control the spread of the flu in our schools. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call Superintendent Chet Janik at (231) 547-8101.