It's time to stop freaking out your kiddos
April 29, 2009- The World Health Organization has raised the pandemic alert level for the second time this week to a level 5 because of the swine flu outbreak. What does that mean? Here’s a breakdown of the pandemic alert scale:
- Phase 1-A virus in animals has caused known infections in humans.
- Phase 2-An animal flu virus has caused infections in humans.
- Phase 3-Sporadic cases or small clusters of disease occur in humans. Human-to-human transmission is insufficient to cause community level outbreaks.
- Phase 4-Risk of pandemic is increased, but not immanent. The disease-causing virus is able to cause community level outbreaks.
- Phase 5-The spread of human-to-human disease is occurring in more than one country of one World Health Organization region. Pandemic is imminent.
- Phase 6-Pandemic level. Community-level outbreaks are in at least one additional country in a different World Health Organization region than in phase 5. A global pandemic is underway.
*The phases are about the spread of the virus, not the severity of the disease.
With the virus spreading and tests being run in every state, you can bet that the numbers of infected and the death toll will rise in the coming weeks. This does not mean that this is a dooms-day virus that is going to kill everyone.
The people in the highest risk level, according to the Centers for Disease Control, are children under 5, pregnant women, and people over 65. These are the first people that will be given the anti-viral drugs when they show signs of having the flu.
Do not panic. Keep calm, and don’t discuss the severity of this disease around your children. More and more children are becoming anxious about the pandemic, because all they hear is fear. Talk to them about how mild most cases are, and how the numbers on the news have been blown out of proportion, and that there are kids all over the country that have had it and are now fine. Tell them about patient zero, that he's 5-years-old, and he's fine.
WHO is not saying that masks are needed to keep from getting the disease, but if you feel you need one to stay calm, they won’t hurt. They are more beneficial to people with the virus than people without it.
The best defense is to eat healthy, use good hand washing technique, wash your hands often, and use good infection control practices. Talk to your kiddos about not sharing drinks and pens, and teach them how to wash their hands.
It’s not going to be a miracle drug that stops this, it’s going to be well educated people with good infection control practices and frequent good hand washing. Learn the signs and symptoms, and avoid large gatherings. Avoid travel to and from Mexico. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you or your children become ill, stay home from work and school and see your doctor, especially if you have flu like symptoms.
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