H1N1 Flu update: 4 p.m., Aug. 21, 2009

From the UWM Pandemic Planning and Response Team:

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to institutions for higher education for how they should respond to influenza during the upcoming academic year. The guidelines are designed “to help decrease the spread of flu among students, faculty, and staff of institutions of higher education.”

Among the many recommendations from the CDC are the following:

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
• Cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).
• Anyone experiencing flu-like illness should stay away from classes and limit interactions with other people, except to seek medical care, for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines.

The UWM Pandemic Planning and Response Team has met throughout the summer to analyze the campus’s response to the H1N1 outbreak in spring 2009 and prepare for the anticipated return of the flu during the 2009-2010 academic year. It is reviewing these latest CDC recommendations and will be incorporating them into policies and procedures.