May 27, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Following is the latest information provided to Superintendents and School Nurses from the Commissioner of Education and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention for responding to the H1N1 flu. This letter provides instructions for determining if a child or staff person should stay home from school because of influenza-like illness.
Re-admitting Students and Staff after Flu-like Symptoms
The Maine & U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that individuals with influenza-like symptoms should stay at home and not attend school for seven days after illness onset or for 24 hours after resolution of symptoms, whichever is LONGER. This recommendation is based on the time period in which persons can shed the virus and is intended to decrease disease transmission in schools. The link for this information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/K12_dismissal.htm .
The Maine CDC and U.S. CDC advise schools to follow these recommendations for responding to the H1N1 flu.
1. Individuals with fever (100 F or 37.7 C) AND sore throat or cough may have influenza. These persons should remain home from school for seven days or until symptoms are gone for 24 hours, whichever is longer.
2. If an individual has a) fever alone, b) vomiting or diarrhea, or c) sore throat or new cough, he/she should remain home from school until symptoms are gone for 24 hours.
The South Portland School Department will adhere to these guidelines to protect the health of our community. If you have questions or need clarification, contact your school nurse.
As media attention to the H1N1 flu has subsided, it is important that health professionals and school officials continue to maintain a heightened awareness of the H1N1 infection, continue to track U.S. CDC and Maine CDC guidance, and not reduce vigilance when it comes to hygiene etiquette, industrial cleaning, and educating parents about the importance of keeping their children home if they exhibit influenza-like illness (ILI).
Significant influenza activity is still ongoing in much of the country with increased severity and hospitalizations being reported. This virus is not “going away” as some people seem to think. It’s uncertain at this time how severe this novel H1N1 outbreak will be in terms of illness and death compared with other influenza viruses.

Sincerely,

Suzanne T. Godin
Superintendent of Schools