Health
Message from Topeka Public Schools
Dr. Julie Putnam, coordinator nursing services
Dr. Julie Putnam, coordinator nursing services
Topeka
Public Schools, in partnership with the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment (KDHE) and Shawnee County Health Agency (SCHA), is closely
monitoring the Ebola situation and the status of other communicable diseases
including Enterovirus D68. Updates to
the district’s infection control measures will be implemented based on
directives from KDHE and SCHA.
If a
student/staff member/visitor is suspected of having a communicable disease
based on KDHE and SCHA guidelines the following steps will be implemented:
·
Separate
the ill individual from others.
·
Notify
the appropriate contact person(s) (e.g. parents/guardians for students or as
indicated for staff/visitors).
·
Advise
the appropriate contact person(s) (e.g. parents/guardians for students or as
indicated for staff/visitors) to contact their health care provider for the
next appropriate steps.
·
Ill
individuals will be sent home until symptom free for 24 hours without use of
fever reducing medications.
Enterovirus D68
The
United States has been experiencing a nationwide outbreak of enterovirus D68
(EV-D68) associated with severe respiratory illness that has been especially
harmful to children. At the same time, you and your communities
may also have questions about
the Ebola virus. To address both
public health concerns, the U.S. Department of
Education and our federal health partners have a number of informational
resources to share with you.
Almost all of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)-confirmed cases this year of EV-D68 infection have been among
children. Many of the children had asthma or a history
of wheezing.
Many parents continue to be
worried about the outbreak and want information about what they can do to
prevent illness and protect themselves and their families. The CDC has developed information and
resources for parents about EV-D68. Please help us to address parents’
questions and concerns and make them aware that these resources are available.
More information can be found at
www.cdc.gov/features/evd68/
The Facts About Ebola
Ebola is a viral disease
that is spread through direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids of a
person who is sick with Ebola.
Symptoms:
- Symptoms include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Joint and muscle aches
- Weakness
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Stomach pain
- Lack of appetite
- Symptoms usually appear 8 - 10
days after exposure to someone who is sick with Ebola, but may appear up
to 21 days after exposure.
- A person infected with Ebola is
not contagious until symptoms appear.
Transmission:
- Ebola is spread by direct contact
with bodily fluids (blood, vomit, urine, sweat, breast milk) of someone
who is infected with Ebola and is showing symptoms or someone who has
recently died of Ebola.
- Ebola can only be spread from one
person to another when the person infected with Ebola is showing symptoms.
- Ebola is not spread through
water, air or food.
- Ebola is not spread through
casual contact.
- For a person to spread Ebola to
others, they must have:
- Been in areas within the last 21
days where Ebola disease is occurring, AND
- Been in contact with the blood
or body fluids (blood, vomit, urine, sweat, breast milk) of a person with
Ebola who is showing symptoms or a person who has recently died from
Ebola, AND
- Developed Ebola symptoms.
Treatment:
- There is no specific medication
that cures Ebola and no vaccine to prevent it.
- Treatment of an Ebola patient is
supportive, meaning providing fluids, maintaining blood pressure, and
providing blood transfusions as needed.
More
information:
- Information about Ebola virus disease can be found on
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola
- Information
about Ebola can also be found on the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment website: www.kdheks.gov/ebola
