Flu season preparation starts Published Aug. 26, 2009 By 375th Medical Group SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Right now, parents everywhere are preparing for a new school year, finding out who their children's teachers will be, buying school supplies and seeing the doctor to make sure their kids are healthy and ready to learn. But parents should add one more item to their back-to-school checklist: what to do if someone in the family gets the flu. This fall, public health officials not only have to plan for a new version of seasonal influenza, but another potentially serious strain of the 2009 H1N1 virus. The new H1N1 virus was first seen in the U.S. last April, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to report higher than normal levels of flu-like illness and actual H1N1 outbreaks in some parts of the country. CDC estimates so far that they have had more than one million cases of H1N1 in the U.S. Similar to seasonal flu, with H1N1 symptoms include a fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, achiness, headache, chills and fatigue. Sometimes H1N1 causes diarrhea and vomiting. Just like seasonal flu, it can be severe and potentially deadly. H1N1 can be dangerous for a person with an underlying medical condition--such as asthma or diabetes--or pregnancy. So far, it's been most contagious among children and young adults age six months to 24 years. Health care workers, emergency responders and people caring for infants should be particularly alert to flu-like symptoms. Scientists believe this virus could worsen with the arrival of school. But if preparations are made now, its impact on work and school routines could be lessened. Some of these precautions are simple and personal. Make it a routine to wash hands often with soap and water. Cough into sleeves or into a tissue, not in hands. Stay home if feeling sick. The CDC recommends that people with influenza-like illness remain at home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (defined as 100° F [37.8°C] or greater) without the use of fever-reducing medications. Parents should plan ahead for when their child gets sick and consider child care arrangements or missing work. Some preparation is community-wide. Managers or supervisors should be prepared for reduced staff, to avoid a sick employee spreading the flu in the workplace At the national level, scientists at the National Institutes of Health, the CDC, and the Food and Drug Administration are working with vaccine manufacturers to make sure that an H1N1 vaccine is not only safe, but that the virus is not changing in ways that would reduce a vaccine's effectiveness. They expect to have a vaccine ready this fall. Once the vaccine is available, follow medical and public health advice on getting vaccinated. For more information, visit www.flu.gov or contact the 375th Medical Group Public Health office at 256-4986.