October 13, 2009

Dear Parents,

We are recently seeing increased levels of illness in the Blaine School District and wanted to take this opportunity to review the information sent out to families in early September. The following details and related recommendations have been put together by the Whatcom County Health Department.

Typically influenza outbreaks occur no earlier than mid December. This year, however, the virus has remained active over the summer and we may see school outbreaks in the fall.  This is especially true because the H1N1 virus appears to be disproportionately affecting children and young adults.

Right now the H1N1 virus does not appear to be causing severe disease in people with the exception of individuals with asthma or other underlying health conditions, although this could change. We are working closely with the Whatcom County Health Department to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take to protect our students. If the flu becomes more severe, we may need to take additional steps to prevent the spread of the virus. 

As you may know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu in the Blaine School District. We want to keep all schools open to students and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season. We need your help to do this.

Here are a few things you can do to help:

• Teach your student to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.
• Teach them not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils.
• Teach them to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes by using an elbow, arm or sleeve (instead of the hand) is also appropriate when a tissue is unavailable.
• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
• Keep sick students at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, without using fever-reducing drugs.  Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of students who are infected with the H1N1 virus.
• Do not send them to school if they are sick. Any student who is determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

Please be advised that additional Health Department information including  preliminary vaccination detail, can be accessed on the Blaine School District Website @www.blainesd.org.

Sincerely,

Ronald Spanjer

Superintendent

For more information visit www.flu.gov, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu.

We will notify you of any additional changes to our district's strategy to prevent the spread of flu.