How is the Providence School Department in Providence, Rhode Island Preparing for Swine Flu?

Whether you have a child who attends school within the Providence School Department in Providence, Rhode Island, or you are an employee who works for one of the schools, you need to know what measures the Providence School Department is taking to prepare for and respond to a swine flu (H1N1) pandemic.

But, first, what exactly is the Swine Flu?

Simply put, the Swine Flu is a strain of influenza discovered to have been transferred from pigs to humans.

Despite contrary beliefs, the swine flu is not a new thing.

The first incidences of the swine flu in humans was discovered in 1975 in four army recruits. The disease, believed to be related to the pandemic of Spanish influenza that killed 50 million Americans in 1918, was isolated and a vaccine was created and released to the public in 1976. However, the vaccinations had big problems: hundreds of people who received the vaccine also received a nasty side effect called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which causes paralysis. G-B was traced back to the vacinne, and more than $84 million dollars worth of liability claims were paid to the victims, which is of little comfort, I'd suspect, to someone who is paralyzed. Makes me think twice about getting my flu shot, how about you?

The Swine Flu, H1N1, is a mutated version of the 1975 strain.

So what steps is the Providence School Department taking to prevent the spread of Swine Flu?

The Providence School Department website assures visitors that the health of their students and employees is of the utmost importance. The Providence School Department is working closely with the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Providence Emergency Management Agency in order to reach their goal of keeping the schools open and functioning in a normal manner during the flu season. Extra precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of germs and illness.

The Providence School Department is following the directives issued by the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, to inform the decisions that will need to be made concerning the schools. Prevention is the best defense, so parents are encouraged to teach their children proper hand washing techniques or to provide students with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Students are also urged to not share utensils or personal items and to cover their mouths whenever they sneeze or cough. In short, students are encouraged to follow typical germ prevention methods that you've always used in the past, but perhaps with more vigilance, just in case.

Parents and staff also need to learn and recognize the symptoms of the flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, and fatigue. Students and staff who are sick are encouraged to stay home until at least 24 hours after showing signs of the flu.