Swine flu – advice for parents
As we move into winter the number of swine flu cases appears to be increasing again.
Parents are reminded that the NHS advice is that there is no reason to keep children off school as a preventative measure against swine flu. Children should attend school if they are well, and only those who have flu-like symptoms should stay away to avoid spreading the infection.
Remember, children could catch flu from a range of sources as they are out and about on a daily basis. There's no way to offer total protection against the virus, but good hygiene through measures like frequent hand washing can really help to cut the risk.
Local schools already have established plans for managing the spread of flu, and the council is working closely with them to put additional measures in place, including increased cleaning of facilities.
Jim Deacon, assistant director of emergency planning for the NHS Humber region, reminds us: "As with normal seasonal flu, swine flu is not restricted to certain places and can be caught almost anywhere once it is widespread within the community. This includes shops, public transport, work places and entertainment venues, so the usual advice of hand washing and coughing or sneezing into a tissue and disposing of it carefully still applies.
"Thankfully, swine flu is still resulting in mild symptoms in the majority of people, so it's a matter of just carrying on as normal."
Information on swine flu is available via the swine flu information line on 0800 1 513 513.
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