In a meeting Friday, Putnam County’s Director of Schools, Dr. Kathleen Airhart, stated that there are no confirmed cases of H1N1, or swine flu, in Putnam County Schools, but officials are prepared to handle any cases that might turn up in the future.

H1N1 grabbed headlines earlier in the year when CDC officials announced the first confirmed U.S. case on April 22.

The same month, the United States Government declared a public health emergency in response to this relatively new mutation of the flu virus, implementing the nation’s pandemic response plan.

County teachers are being asked to emphasize preventative health measures with their students, instructing students to wash hand, cover coughs, & avoid eating or drinking after others.

Students in every classroom have access to hand washing facilities or waterless hand sanitizer.

School attendance is monitored daily. 

When county wide student absences reach a minimum level of eighteen percent, county officials consider closing school doors until the spike in student illness passes.

Director of Putnam County’s Coordinated School Health Program Lori Paisley met with school cleaning service personal earlier in the week, working with them to identify surfaces & common areas in which germs are most likely to be passed from person to person.

Areas identified as germ hot spots will be cleaned more thoroughly and more often as part of the system wide effort to stop the flu before it starts.

In a meeting Thursday, Paisley advised school principals of health policies in place to deal with any contagious disease among the counties student population.

Parents who feel their child is exhibiting flu like systems (cough, runny nose, body aches, vomiting, & fever) should keep the child home, especially if he or she is running a temperature above 100 degrees.

An elevated temperature indicates the individual may be carrying a virus, which is contagious to others.

The parents of medically at risk student exhibiting symptoms should contact their health care provider for further instruction on how to treat their child.

A student should not return to school until he or she has been off all fever reducing medication, such as Tylenol or Motrin, & without an elevated temperature for at least twenty-four hours.

For further information, visit the Center for Disease Control website.

Parents wishing to contact their child’s school with questions regarding Putnam County’s health policies & procedures can find contact information on Putnam County Schools website.

They may also contact the Supervisor of the county’s Coordinated School Health Program Lori Paisley via e-mail or at 931-526-9777.