Germaction

Germaction Archives

Nathalie Thibault's bachelor's degree in Microbiology and master's degree in Immunology make her a germ and immune system specialist. Since the birth of her two daughters, she has been particularly interested in the infections which affect children who attend daycare. She is a teacher, speaker, and author. The specialized documents and courses she conceives help those involved in early childhood outsmart germs. She writes for a magazine called La Culbute and the mamanpourlavie.com website.

Infect-Aid Column

Note: This column may be photocopied. It must be contagious... Of course, remember to mention the source of contamination.

A/H1N1: a whirlwind of information

We are facing a new flu virus with swine origins. Regardless of where the virus came from, a flu virus remains a flu virus. It is an acute infection of the respiratory tract with its share of possible complications: 39-40⁰C fever for 2 to 3 days, cough, aches and pains, headaches, and a general poor state of health! Currently, the virus seems to be less "intense" than originally anticipated. This means it is less harmful and less deadly than expected or compared to the Spanish flu. Nonetheless, the flu remains a serious infection to fight and children can develop complications which are serious!

What we have done in our daycare (which my son still attends):

**These are preventive measures.**

1. We got our pandemic plan out. We had prepared one for the Avian flu. We read it over. We checked how many masks, bottles of disinfectant and hand sanitizer we had in stock.
   
   
2. We displayed a sign stating that it is mandatory for parents to wash their hands upon entering and exiting the daycare. Some were already doing this, good for them!
   
   
3. We warned parents that we would be watching their children's state of health closely. If a child were to suddenly develop a high fever, a cough, a headache, or aches and pains, his parents would have to come and get him.
   
   
4. We asked daycare personnel to remain calm at all times and to think about storing certain toys

If the situation were to deteriorate even more:

1. We will ask daycare personnel to stop having children brush their teeth to avoid transmission through saliva.
   
   
2. We will put even more toys into storage (to avoid having contaminated objects in the environment and increase the frequency of disinfection).
   
   
3. We will increase the frequency of disinfection for door handles, keyboards, railings, etc. to guarantee they are disinfected several times per day.

Of course, we would continue all of the excellent hygiene habits we have already acquired.

If the situation were to deteriorate even more...you will read the next column on your favorite website: educatall.com!

Don't forget that germs are invisible! I am here to support you!

Nathalie Thibault 

Products and services offered by Germaction: Distance learning courses for caregivers, courses in classroom settings, conferences, animated workshops, ISO-BOBOS program, etc.

No element of this text may be copied, reproduced, distributed, published, translated, downloaded, posted, or transmitted, in any way, without prior written authorization from Educatall and the copyright holder. Elements may be posted and/or downloaded solely for personal and non-commercial use provided no modifications are made and all notices of intellectual property are fully shown (name of the author, title of the article, name of the website, date the text is used and the date of the part in question).