Shools and communities are seeing the effects of the seasonal flu, but Coweta County schools appear to be faring well so far this year. School system spokesman Dean Jackson in addressing student absences during the last week of school before the holiday break said, “We are seeing some flu-like illnesses in schools, though we can never know for certain if it is influenza. We are seeing some higher absenteeism, but not a large amount. It fell as low as 94 percent attendance last week system-wide, but was back to around 96 percent this week. No individual school has fallen below 90 percent attendance”.
Flu and flu-like symptoms have also showed up at the Coweta Charter Academy in Senoia where officials last week reported 30 confirmed flu cases in a student population of 768. It was noted that a number of other students were out sick, though those could not be confirmed as having influenza. Jackson said a letter was recently sent to parents from Coweta County School System Head Nurse Sally Millians.
The letter addressed a number of precautions parents can take in the effort to prevent the occurrence and spread of influenza and other contagious illnesses. Health officials recommend these steps to reduce your family’s risk of getting the flu:
1) Teach your children to cover their nose and mouth with a tissue or shirt sleeve whenever they cough or sneeze. Throw away used tissue.
2) Practice good hand washing by washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds and getting your children to do the same.
3) Make sure your children don’t share drinking glasses or eating utensils.
4) Make sure everyone gets vaccinated. There is ample supply of seasonal flu vaccine, and the vaccine is recommended for everyone older than six months of age.
If either you or your child has flu-like illness (with fever over 100 degrees with a cough and/or sore throat):
1) Stay home from work or keep your children home from school. This will help prevent spreading illness to others. The CDC recommends staying home until fever is gone for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
2) Be sure to practice good hand washing as described above. 3) Consult your healthcare provider for guidance.
