H1N1+Information

Information about H1N1
Human Swine Flu (H1N1 Flu Virus) is a strain of the influenza virus that usually affects pigs, but which may also make people sick. H1N1 flu virus is a respiratory illness that causes symptoms similar to those of the regular human seasonal flu. In June of 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an influenza pandemic based on the continued spread of the Influenza H1N1 virus. This pandemic has been characterized, to date, by the mildness of symptoms in the overwhelming majority of patients, who usually recover, even without medical treatment, within a week of the onset of symptoms. Although an early projection for availability of a vaccine for human use is targeted for September, 2009, BC’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Perry Kendall expects that there will be a surge of cases when school resumes in September.
 * Preparations in Anticipation of the Impact of H1N1 on BC’s Educational System **

In a severe pandemic, school and daycare closures, in combination with other social distancing strategies, are potentially a valuable strategy to slow the spread of disease. A paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal argues that closing schools might be helpful to break the chain of transmission and to lessen the burden on health care systems. A parallel paper, written by researchers at London's Imperial College, also noted there would considerable economic costs from such an approach, as parents would be forced to stay home to look after children. To prepare for such closures, Le Parisien newspaper reports that France's Education Ministry is already preparing for such a possibility. It has prepared nearly 300 hours of educational programming for radio and television to allow those affected by school closures to follow their lessons, the report said.

To help British Columbia’s schools, students and teachers continue with educational activities during a finite period of potential school closures, synchronous and asynchronous electronic resources can be identified and compiled. Whereas a strategy that shifts the sequence and responsibility for instruction from classroom teachers to distributed learning schools and teachers is overly disruptive to students and the school system, assisting Boards of Education in equipping classroom teachers with ICT tools and skills allows instructional continuity and responsibility during school closure while at the same time increasing teachers’ ICT skills.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has recommended that schools “through consultation with your regional office of education and local authorities, develop alternative learning strategies such as collaborative agreements (television or other local cable stations, teleconferencing, lessons on CDs, etc.) (@http://www.idph.state.il.us/pandemic_flu/schoolguide.htm). The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (@http://free.ed.gov/) is a US Department of Education website that contains free federal educational materials for use by schools, teachers and students. Many school districts in British Columbia maintain websites of useful links for student, parent and teacher use (@http://www.sd36.bc.ca/student/, while organizations such as LearnNow BC (@http://lor.learnnowbc.ca/lnbclor/access/home.do?) and OpenSchool (@http://erc.openschool.bc.ca/ERC/erc_home.html) maintain learning object repositories which contain lessons, tutorials and assignments that can be accessed by registered users. **

Resources: **
 * ** Interim Recommendations Regarding Schools and Daycare Centres, Public Health Agency of Canada, May 3, 2009: ** @http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/swine-porcine/interim-provisoires-05-03-eng.php
 * ** FightFlu.ca ** : @http://www.fightflu.ca/index-eng.html
 * ** Update on School (K – 12) and Child Care Programs: Interim CDC Guidance in Response to Human Infections with the Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus, Centers for Disease Control, May 22, 2009: ** @http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/k12_dismissal.htm
 * ** The Lancet.com H1N1 Resource Centre: ** @http://www.thelancet.com/H1N1-flu
 * ** World Health Organization, Pandemic (H1N1) 2009: ** @http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/