Dental Health Month
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Congratulations to our first place winners in the Dental Health Poster contest. Three of these first place winners have had their posters sent to the county contest sponsored by ACAP and will also be sent to the state contest and displayed in the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention building where the Oral Health Program is located.
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Please click on the link below for an important update, 12-2-2009
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM OUR SCHOOL NURSE CONCERNING THE FLU
Please note: A health advisory has been issued regarding an outbreak of Norovirus Gastroenteritis. This is a highly contagious virus that causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. This "stomach flu" is unrelated to the seasonal flu or swine influenza that attacks the respiratory system.
Ill students should remain at home during the symptomatic period and for 48 hours after the last set of symptoms are experienced.
Please refer to the handout sent home by our school nurse, Christine McPherson. If you have any questions, please call her at 455-4505.
Message from Dr. Mills on H1N1
I am writing to update you on the situation with the H1N1 influenza pandemic. As you may have heard recently, the novel 2009 H1N1 virus, also known as "swine flu" or simply "H1N1", is now widespread throughout much of the country, including Maine. Although most people with the infection fully recover uneventfully at home, it is affecting children, young adults, and especially pregnant women the hardest.
The good news is that we recently started receiving shipments of the
H1N1 vaccine. However, it is coming in very slowly. As a result, we are focusing offering the vaccine to two of the highest priority populations - pregnant women and children. Because pregnant women have been very disproportionately affected by H1N1, it is important they are offered vaccine as soon as possible. Children have also been more severely affected than others. And, by vaccinating our school children, we also provide protection to the entire community since they are the major transmitters of influenza to others.
As the supply increases, we will be expanding the distribution to other settings for all the major high-priority groups. And, eventually there will be enough vaccine for all who want it.
In the meantime, here are some steps I encourage you to take:
Do what you can to prevent the flu:
* Wash your hands frequently, especially after being around others
or touching possibly contaminated surfaces (the influenza virus can live on surfaces for up to 8 hours, especially in warm moist places like the palms of our hands);
* Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or a sleeve; and
* Stay home if ill with a fever for at least 24 hours fever-free
(without the help of anti-fever medicines).
Posters with this message have been placed in bathrooms and common areas of state buildings.
If you think you are ill with the flu or someone you live with is:
* This link provides some general recommendations for things to
consider:
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/maineflu/flu-whattodo.shtml
Most people fully recover from H1N1 at home and do not even need to see a health care provider or need to be tested.
* You should call your health care provider to be considered for
antiviral medicines (often known as Tamiflu or Relenza), if you are at high risk for complications and you are sick or someone close with you is sick (such as a household member). People at high risk for complications include:
* Children younger than 2 years old
* Adults 65 years and older
* Pregnant women
* People with certain chronic medical or immunosuppressive
conditions
* People younger than 19 years of age who are receiving
long-term aspirin therapy
Get vaccinated:
* Sign up your children for the H1N1 flu vaccine (and seasonal flu
vaccine if available) when it is offered in their school.
* If you have pre-school aged children or you are pregnant, call
your pediatric or obstetrical health care provider for vaccine.
* A clinic locator is available at www.maineflu.gov
<http://www.maineflu.gov/> .
* It is anticipated that H1N1 vaccination clinics will be provided
for state employees at the worksite, once it is available for non-high priority distribution. Those in the high priority groups should consider seeking the vaccine sooner through their own health care provider or another source.
* High priority groups for H1N1 vaccine are:
* Pregnant women;
* Household members and caregivers of infants less than
six months old;
* Children ages six months to 25 years;
* People ages 25-65 with severe underlying conditions,
especially respiratory and neurodevelopmental conditions; and
* Health care workers (at this time, especially those with
frequent direct contact with patients and infectious material who work in hospital emergency departments, pediatric, labor/delivery, and intensive care units).
* If you are not in a high priority group for vaccine, know that
eventually there will be sufficient supplies for everyone. As an example, although my children are in a high priority group and I hope they will be receiving vaccine in their school, I am not in a high priority group, and will wait until it is my turn.
If you have concerns about vaccine safety:
* Know that the H1N1 flu vaccine is made the same way as seasonal
flu vaccine, and is fully licensed by the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug
Administration) using the same standards as with seasonal flu vaccine.
* Check www.maineflu.gov <http://www.maineflu.gov/> for more
information about the vaccine.
* There are several forms of the vaccine; about 40% of the supply
right now is the nasal mist (spray) form. It is licensed only for otherwise healthy non-pregnant 2 - 49 year olds with no underlying conditions. Therefore, it is being used a great deal in school and pediatric health care provider settings. It is the same as the seasonal flu mist spray that has been used very successfully for several years.
Stay updated:
* Maine CDC's website has updated Maine-specific information,
including daily updates, as well as links to federal information. It can be located at: http://www.maineflu.gov/.
* Health Alert Network: Sign up to receive urgent updates from
Maine CDC's Health Alert Network (HAN). The easiest and quickest way is to sign up is through the HAN Alert RSS feed at www.mainepublichealth.gov <http://www.mainepublichealth.gov/> .
* Follow Maine CDC's Updates on:
o Facebook (search for "Maine CDC")
o Twitter (http://twitter.com/MEPublicHealth)
o MySpace (www.myspace.com/mainepublichealth)
o Maine CDC's Blog (http://mainepublichealth.blogspot.com
<http://mainepublichealth.blogspot.com/> )
Call or Email Us:
* General Public Call-in Number for Questions: 1-888-257-0990
(Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) NextTalk (deaf/hard of hearing) -
(207) 629-5751
* Email your questions to: flu.questions@maine.gov
Finally, I want to thank my fellow state employees. I have never been so proud to be a state employee than the last 6 months. Despite an especially challenging time period, the most common questions I hear from my colleagues are, "what can we do to help Maine CDC with the H1N1 effort?" and "what can we do to help protect the people of Maine?" I can't tell you how uplifting these offers of assistance are.
The work that Maine state employees have contributed to the H1N1 pandemic is truly remarkable. Of course, I am especially proud of the ~400 Maine CDC employees, almost all of them either working on H1N1 these past 6 months or filling in for those who are.
So, thank you for all your ongoing efforts and support. Together, we can help all of us get through this winter safely.
Dora
Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH
Director, Maine CDC/DHHS
State Health Officer