Influenza (flu) is a highly-contagious respiratory illness. Swine flu is usually found in pigs, but it can occasionally be contracted by humans as seen in the recent outbreak in Mexico. Over the past few days, cases have been reported across the US, causing much concern and even a few school closings in New York, California, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

How can you help yourself and your students stay healthy? What should you do if there is a flu outbreak in your school? We’ve compiled a list of the best resources to help answer your questions:

NEA Health Information Network

On Monday, April 27, 2009, staff of the NEA Health Information Network (HIN) participated in a national conference call with leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Education, and other concerned agencies to discuss issues surrounding the recent global outbreak of swine influenza. The information conveyed during the call was up-to-the-minute, and follow-up calls will be held regularly throughout the period in which swine flu presents major health concerns to citizens. HIN will continue to participate in these calls, and will remain in communication with NEA members to keep you informed. Information and updates from HIN can be found at www.neahin.org/swineflu.

Department of Education

This ed.gov blog entry provides information obtained from an April 27 conference call held to guide education officials on how to identify, contain, report and prevent swine influenza in school facilities.

• Advice on school closure (CDC)
• If your school or district does decide to close, please notify the Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools (OSDFS) by e-mail to osdfs.safeschl@ed.gov, in addition to your local public health authority. Educators may also e-mail OSDFS with questions about the proper response to swine influenza cases, and how to prevent the flu at schools.

The National Association of School Nurses

NASN has created a flu prevention program for schools.

• Don't get sidelined by the flu: influenza prevention and treatment education program – Download materials in English and Spanish that include a three-step approach to flu prevention, a flyer for students, a parent fact sheet, and much more.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has gathered information specifically for swine flu. Get up-to-date information on the current investigation and tips to help prevent the spread of the disease.

• Human swine flu investigation – Read about the current investigation and get practical advice, reports, brochures and tips to stay healthy.
• Things you can do – 6 tips to help prevent the disease.
• Questions & answers: swine influenza and you – learn the basic facts about swine flu in humans.
• Swine flu video podcast – In this video, Dr. Joe Bresee, with the CDC Influenza Division, describes swine flu—its signs and symptoms, how it's transmitted, medicines to treat it, steps people can take to protect themselves from it and what people should do if they become ill.
• What’s new? – Updated as new information becomes available. You can also sign up for email updates, RSS feeds, or follow on Twitter.
• Información en español – Datos importantes sobre la influenza porcina.

2009 Swine Flu (H1N1) Outbreak Map

Track confirmed and suspected cases with this Google Map.