The Swine Flu: Is Your Preschool Ready?

By Kelly Mayberry

It has already reached pandemic proportions and childcare locations across the country are looking for ways to manage the outbreak of H1N1 virus. The Centers for Disease Control is working closely with the National Association for the Education of Young People to protect children in daycare as well as the staff members at childcare locations across the country.

The best way to be prepared is to sanitize everything possible to prevent the spread of an outbreak before it starts. Brilliance Preschool and Academy makes sure that every single toy is cleaned and sanitized at the end of each and every day. As every early childhood education center should, the academy goes above and beyond normal practices to insure a germ-free environment. The operators understand that the health and safety of your child should be their number one priority.

The CDC has published guidance on steps that should be taken at school to protect students. Children under five years of age are considered most at risk from an outbreak of H1N1 so it is considered essential that once the vaccine is available anyone who works with young children become vaccinated. Ask at your child's school if there are plans to have all staff members receive their shots and check with your pediatrician to see if your child needs to be vaccinated as well.

The CDC also recommends that all preschools have an emergency plan in place in case there is an outbreak of swine flu in the building. The plan should include provisions to immediately notify all parents and that communication should advise parents that it is essential to keep students home if they begin to display flu like symptoms. The CDC reports that the "symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting."

When you visit your preschool you should see posters around the building encouraging the children to practice good hygiene. Materials are available from the government and the NAEYP free of charge, which reinforce the importance of hand washing and covering the nose and mouth when sneezing. Despite the best efforts of any school it still may become necessary at some point to close to control any outbreak. The CDC says if too many children or staff members become ill the best course of action will be to shutdown for 5 to 7 days. - 29940

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