Much of the guidance and information you find here can be used during any respiratory outbreak, not just flu.
Get vaccinated
Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing
Wash hands often with soap and water
Routinely clean and disinfect commonly-touched surfaces
Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth
A single resident with a positive flu test and two or more additional residents with respiratory illness symptoms.
OR
Two or more residents with at least two of the following symptoms:
Fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more
Nonproductive cough
Myalgia (muscle pain)
Pharyngitis (sore throat)
Report influenza-like illness outbreaks to the Health Department 24/7 by calling 802-863-7240 and filling out a viral respiratory illness outbreak report form. It is important to report so that the Health Department can help coordinate testing. Health Department staff will ask about symptoms, onset, case totals, exposure, treatments, outcomes, and actions taken.
Collect specimens from 3-5 residents within 72 hours of symptom onset for surveillance testing at the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory using the testing instructions and forms.
Treat symptomatic residents with antivirals. Do not wait for laboratory confirmation of the flu.
Sick staff should stay home until 24 hours after fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Start a list of sick residents and staff and track symptom onset using the Influenza-like illness line list.
When at least 2 residents/patients are ill within 72 hours of each other and at least one resident has lab-confirmed influenza, promptly initiate antiviral prophylaxis to all non-ill residents. CDC recommends antiviral prophylaxis for a minimum of 2 weeks and continuing for at least 7-10 days after the last known case was identified.
Stop taking new admissions or transfers when possible.
Discourage symptomatic people from visiting.
Follow droplet precautions for symptomatic residents.
Encourage symptomatic residents to practice respiratory hygiene.
Ensure ill employees do not work.
Do not float staff between units.
Provide training in infection control and hand hygiene for staff.
Restrict symptomatic residents to their rooms, or cohort on the infected unit.
Limit group activities and serve meals in rooms.
If a resident is transferred to another facility during the outbreak, notify the receiving facility of the outbreak whether or not the individual has symptoms.
Offer flu vaccine to unvaccinated staff, residents, and new admissions throughout the flu season.
Increased absenteeism* throughout the school in association with influenza-like illness. This includes:
Students who are sent home with fever and cough or sore throat.
Absent students with parental reports of flu.
Absent students with parental reports of fever and cough or sore throat.
*Increased absenteeism is defined as absentee rates exceeds 10% for entire school; OR absentee rate exceeds 20% of one grade or class.
Report influenza-like illness outbreaks to the Health Department 24/7 by filling out an Outbreak Report Form.
Sick students and staff should stay home until 24 hours after fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medication.
It can be helpful to keep track of students and staff who are part of the outbreak using a line list to fill out the Outbreak Report Form. Here is a template that may be helpful: Influenza-like illness line list.
Encourage washing hands with soap and water.
Provide tissues and no-touch trash cans around the school and classrooms.
Routinely clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces.
Send a letter home to parents with flu prevention information.
Avoid touching mouth, eyes or nose.
Encourage staff to stay home if they are sick.
Encourage students not to share food or drinks.
Encourage any unvaccinated staff to get vaccinated.
Recommend that students and their families get vaccinated.
Increased absenteeism throughout the facility in association with influenza-like illness. This includes:
Children who go home early with fever and cough or sore throat,
Absent children with parental reports of flu,
Absent children with parental reports of fever and cough or sore throat.
Report influenza-like illness outbreaks to the Health Department 24/7 by filling out an Outbreak Report Form.
Sick children and staff should stay home until 24 hours after fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medication.
It can be helpful to keep track of students and staff who are part of the outbreak using a line list to fill out the Outbreak Report Form. Here is a template that may be helpful: Influenza-like illness line list.
Encourage washing hands with soap and water.
Provide tissues and no-touch trash cans around the facility.
Routinely clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces.
Send a letter home to parents with flu prevention information.
Avoid touching mouth, eyes, or nose.
Discourage sharing of food or drinks between children.
Encourage any unvaccinated staff to get vaccinated.
Recommend that children and their families get vaccinated.
An outbreak is when you are seeing multiple people at your facility with flu-like symptoms, like:
Fever
Cough
Headache
Body aches
Fatigue
Sore throat
Chills
If you are seeing multiple people at your facility with flu-like symptoms, please fill out the Outbreak Report Form and call 802-863-7240.
Encourage staff to get a flu shot.
Be aware when individuals have flu-like symptoms.
Staff and volunteers should stay home until their fever has been gone for at least 24 hours.
Put up posters around the facility that show hygiene practices, such as covering coughs and sneezes and proper handwashing.
Place alcohol-based hand sanitizer in areas where handwashing is not available.
Perform routine surface cleaning of commonly-touched surfaces like door knobs.
Place tissues and trash cans around the facility.
When possible, locate ill individuals away from those that are well.
Place cots head-to-toe and keep cots six feet apart.
Encourage individuals to report to a staff member if they are feeling ill.
