Good afternoon,
Platte County Health Department (PCHD) recently received over 80 reports of influenza
diagnosed in Platte County residents last week, over a third of which were
among school-aged children. Due to high rates of influenza currently being
reported throughout Platte County and the Kansas City region, we wanted to send
out a friendly reminder to our daycares to make an extra effort to practice good
hygiene measures throughout flu season:
·
Promote regular handwashing
among your staff and students, particularly after handling used tissues or
using the restroom and before eating or preparing food. Handwashing is
the best way to prevent the spread of communicable disease!
·
Ask parents to keep their students home from
school if they have a fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, until at least 24 hours
after symptoms end.
·
Perform routine cleaning and disinfection
of frequently touched environmental surfaces and equipment as well as
high-traffic areas:
o Frequently
touched surfaces include, but are not limited to, commodes, toilets, faucets,
hand railing, telephones, door handles, computer equipment, and kitchen
preparation surfaces.
o Increase
the frequency of cleaning and disinfection frequently touched surfaces when
there are many sick children (e.g., increase cleaning to twice daily to
maintain cleanliness, with frequently touched surfaces cleaned and disinfected
three times daily).
o Clean
and disinfect surfaces starting from the areas with a lower likelihood of
contamination (e.g., tray tables, counter tops) to areas with highly
contaminated surfaces (e.g., toilets, bathroom fixtures).
o Change
mop heads when a new bucket of cleaning solution is prepared, or after cleaning
large spills of vomit or fecal material.
o Consider
avoiding the use of upholstered furniture and rugs or carpets, as these objects
are difficult to clean and disinfect completely. If this option is not
possible, immediately clean soilage, such as vomit or fecal material, from
upholstery, using a manufacturer-approved cleaning agent or detergent.
Consider discarding items that cannot be appropriately cleaned/disinfected.
·
After throwing up or having diarrhea, immediately
clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces.
o PCHD
and the Missouri Department of Health do not recommend using Clorox wipes or
other disinfectant wipes(scented or unscented), as they can increase incidence
of asthma in students and cause other allergic reactions.
Please let us know if you if there is anything else we can
do to assist you in keeping your schools healthy.
Thank you!
