Flu Season - What Can Your Company Do

Your company should take measures now and throughout the flu season to help protect the health of your employees, regardless of the size of your workforce.

Up to half the U.S. population could come down with the H1N1 (swine) flu, as many as 1.8 million could end up hospitalized, and 90,000 could die in the coming flu season, according to a report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Those numbers are in some cases double the estimates for the annual flu season.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has moved its pandemic declaration level from Phase 5 to Phase 6*. This change is a result of sustained community-level outbreaks of the H1N1 virus in at least two WHO regions. The change in classification indicates a pandemic is underway, and the spread of the virus is global.

*The Phase 6 declaration does not mean there is increased risk of contracting the H1N1 virus or that the current strain is harsher or more dangerous. The change is based on the virus becoming more widespread.

National / World Updates

• The CDC estimates that over 1,000,000 people in the U.S. have had (or currently have) the H1N1 Swine Flu.
• U.S. Health official’s state that the swine flu could strike up to 40 percent of Americans over the next two years and as many as several hundred thousand could die if a vaccine campaign and other measures aren’t successful.
• The WHO estimates that as many as 2 billion people could become infected over the next two years – nearly one-third of the world population.
• New swine flu illnesses have leveled off through the summer, although officials fear an explosion of cases in the fall, when children return to school and the weather turns cold, making the virus easier to spread. As of July 24th, the CDC discontinued confirmed and probable case counts. Aggregate national reports of hospitalizations and deaths will continue at this time. This is due to the inaccuracy representation of the true burden of the disease. Many people never sought treatment and never officially tested or diagnosed.
• As of July 31st, there are 5,514 people hospitalized and 353 deaths in the U.S.
• The majority of the cases are people 5 to 24 years of age.
• The seasonal vaccine should be available by the end of August or September.
• The H1N1 vaccine should be available around October 15th. There will be 2 doses required at 2 weeks apart. There may be 160 million doses available.
• On July 29th the CDC Advisory Committee recommended who should receive the vaccine when it becomes available. (This group makes up about 159 million)
  • Pregnant women
  • Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age
  • Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel
  • All people from 6 months to 24 years of age
  • Persons ages 25-64 who have health conditions associated with higher risk of complications.
• The CDC has established a School dismissal Monitoring system to report on H1N1 related school district dismissal in the United States. School dismissals will be reported in two ways: Fill out an online reporting form or download an e-version of the form and email or fax.

WHAT CAN YOUR COMPANY DO?

Among those suggested by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are:

• Advise all employees to stay home if they are sick until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). Make sure fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicines (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).
• Employees who get sick at work should go home as soon as possible. If the employee cannot go home immediately, he or she should be separated from other employees.
• Encourage sick employees at higher risk of complications from flu to contact their health care provider as soon as possible. Taking antiviral medicines early might prevent severe complications from the flu, such as hospitalization or death.
• Encourage all employees who want protection from flu to get vaccinated for seasonal flu. Also encourage employees who are at higher risk for complications from 2009 H1N1 flu to receive the vaccine when it becomes available. People at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 flu complications include pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes).
• Provide resources and a work environment that promotes hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes. Provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, and alcohol-based hand cleaner. Offer education on hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes in an easy-to-understand format and in appropriate languages.
• Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas. Additional disinfection beyond routine cleaning is not recommended.
• Provide information to employees overseas about what to do if they become sick.

We encourage you to continue to rely on the resources and useful information about dealing with a flu outbreak provided by the CDC, World Health Organization and the Texas Department of State Health Services Web sites.

The CDC has created a comprehensive toolkit of materials employers can use in the workplace to promote prevention, and to help them prepare for and respond to an outbreak impacting their workforce. Go to www.pandemicflu.gov/index.html to find tools businesses can use.