Swine Flu in Schools in Providence, Rhode Island

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

If you have a child who attends school at on of the Providence School Department schools in Providence, Rhode Island, you might have concerns about the swine flu. 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 is the Swine Flu exactly?

The Swine Flu is a strain of influenza, or the flu, that was discovered to have been passed from pigs, or swine, to humans. Remember the Avian, or Bird, Flu from a few years back? It's the same type of thing. The primary difference between the different types of flu is how readily it affects humans and how it's spread (i.e. between humans and pigs, or whatever.)

Despite contrary beliefs, the swine flu is not actually 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 vaccine, 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.

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.