Novel H1N1 Flu: Protecting Yourself and Your Community
Updated 10/9/2009
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On this page:
What is H1N1?
How worried should we be?
What should I do to be ready for the flu this year?
What if I don’t have health insurance?
What about my immigration status?
What about travel?
More information
What is H1N1?
Novel (new) H1N1 influenza is a completely new strain of flu. No one had ever seen it before it started making people sick last April.
At first people called it “swine flu” – although you don’t really get it from pigs.
Once it was here, it quickly spread all around the world. When a strain of flu does that, it’s called a pandemic. This is the first one we’ve had in over 40 years.
Novel H1N1 is still with us. It’s been around all summer in Minnesota, although it has been making fewer people sick than it did at first.
Scientists have been concerned that it could come back in the fall, and send a second wave of disease through our communities. That now seems to be happening – especially in our schools.
How worried should we be?
You may have heard that this kind of flu doesn’t make people very sick. That’s only partly true.
It doesn’t make most people any sicker than regular, “seasonal” flu. But seasonal flu is a serious disease. It can make some people very sick. Every year, seasonal flu kills 36,000 people nationwide.
It also makes some people much sicker than others. Unlike seasonal flu, this new flu seems to target young adults and children more than older people.
Young children in particular are at risk. So are pregnant women and people with underlying health problems, like asthma or diabetes.
The novel H1N1 virus could also change, and start making people sicker. Flu viruses are unpredictable. They can change rapidly over time, and begin to behave very differently.
Even if new virus doesn’t change, we are likely to have two kinds of flu going around this fall – seasonal flu and novel H1N1. That could place a great burden on the health care system.
What should I do to be ready for the flu this year?
Get vaccinated, and get your family vaccinated - for both seasonal flu and novel H1N1. You’ll need to get both kinds of vaccine to be protected.
Many doctors and clinics already have this year’s seasonal vaccine. A vaccine for novel H1N1 should be available by early to mid-October – although we won’t have enough for everybody right away.
It’s especially important to get the H1N1 vaccine if you are:
- pregnant
- a child or young adult
- a health care worker or emergency worker
- someone who lives with or cares for a child under the age of 6 months (children that age can’t be vaccinated)
- someone with an underlying health condition
Both kinds of vaccine have been tested for effectiveness and safety. The novel H1N1 vaccine also isn’t really a new kind of vaccine. It’s made exactly the same way as the seasonal vaccine.
There are very simple things you can do to help prevent the spread of the virus. Cover your face with a sleeve or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands, thoroughly and frequently.
If you get sick with symptoms of the flu, stay home from work, or school, or other places where you could spread the virus to others.
Flu symptoms can include fever (higher than 100° F), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea.
If you have flu symptoms and you get very sick – or you’re pregnant, or you have an underlying health problem – talk to a doctor about it. You may be given an anti-viral drug, to keep you from becoming severely ill and help you get better faster.
But call first before you visit a clinic – so you can be seen without exposing others to the flu.
If enough people get sick with the flu, people could be asked to stay at home for awhile -- even if they’re well – to help stop the spread of the flu.
To be ready for that, make a family emergency plan – and a family emergency kit. Stock it with food, water and other supplies you’ll need if you have to stay home for awhile. Attention: Non-MDH link
What if I don’t have health insurance?
The novel H1N1 vaccine is free, but there may be a small charge for giving the shot. Local health departments in Minnesota are now making plans to vaccinate people against novel H1N1. They are taking steps to make sure cost is not a barrier to getting vaccinated.
If you need a seasonal flu shot, or treatment for severe flu, you may be able to find a clinic that charges based on ability to pay. Attention: Non-MDH link
What about my immigration status?
Public health clinics and health care providers exist to prevent and treat disease. It is our job to protect the health of the entire community. While we can’t speak for other government agencies, dealing with immigration issues is not part of that job.
What about travel?
Unlike the H5N1 “bird flu” from a few years ago, novel H1N1 doesn’t raise any special concerns about travel. You aren’t any more likely to get it in other parts of the world than you are in Minnesota. However, you should never spend time in an enclosed space with other people if you have symptoms of flu. That includes airplanes.
All About Influenza
On this page:
What is influenza?
Seasonal influenza
2009 H1N1 influenza
Symptoms of influenza-like illness
Influenza vs. other diseases
What is influenza?
- Influenza, or the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses.
- It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death.
Seasonal influenza
- The best way to prevent seasonal flu is by getting a seasonal flu vaccination each year.
- Every year in the United States, on average:
- 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu;
- more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications; and
- about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes.
- Some people, such as older people, young children, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), are at increased risk for serious complications from seasonal flu illness.
2009 H1N1 influenza
- 2009 H1N1 influenza is a new strain of influenza that was discovered in April 2009.
- Since people don't have immunity to it 2009 H1N1 influenza may cause more illness, hospital stays and deaths that seasonal flu.
- Young children in particular are at risk. So are pregnant women and people with underlying health problems, like asthma and diabetes.
- CDC 2009 H1N1 Influenza and You
Basic information from CDC including a description of 2009 H1N1 influenza, signs and symptoms, spread, and a comparison to seasonal influenza. Attention: Non-MDH link.
Symptoms of influenza-like illness
- Sometimes influenza is called influenza-like illness (ILI) because it's hard to know exactly what kind of influenza a person has without extensive testing.
- The symptoms are very similar for both seasonal influenza and 2009 H1N1 influenza.
- fever (above 100°F)
- cough
- sore throat
- stuffy nose
- in some cases diarrhea and vomiting
- Additional definitions:
What You Should Do If You Get Sick:
Influenza
If you become ill with influenza-like symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, and stuffy nose, you should:
- Stay home and avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness to others.
On this page:
Fact Sheet
Mild illness
Moderate illness
When to call for help
Caring for ill at home
Staying home - how long?
Caring for others while sick
Fact Sheet
Mild illness
If you aren't very sick, you don't need to contact your clinic or doctor.
- Stay home and avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness to others.
- Treat the symptoms as you usually would (for example, with fluids and Tylenol).
- Do not give aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to children or teenagers (≤ 18 years of age) who have the flu; this can cause a rare but serious illness called Reye’s syndrome.
Moderate illness
- Call your clinic or doctor if:
- You have a fever of 100°F or higher, AND
- You have a cough or sore throat.
- You are sick enough that you would normally go to the clinic.
- You have a health condition that may put you at increased risk of becoming severely ill with influenza.
- Stay home and avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness to others.
The CDC has identified certain groups of people who are at increased risk of becoming more severely ill if they become infected with seasonal influenza.
It appears that the same groups are at increased risk with Novel H1N1 influenza. These groups include:
- Children aged less than 5 years, particularly those less than 2 years of age;
- Persons aged 65 years or older;
- Women who are pregnant;
- Adults and children who have chronic health conditions including chronic lung problems such as asthma, metabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, and certain blood diseases;
- Adults and children who have a lowered immune system from medications or chronic health conditions such as HIV;
- Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities.
If you have questions about your risk, please speak to your health care provider.
When to call for help
Contact your clinic or doctor or call 911 if sick person:
- Has difficulty breathing or chest pain (See above).
- Has gray/blue lips or skin.
- Has fever above 104º F (above 101º F for a child) that cannot be reduced.
- Has severe or persistent coughing.
- Has a sign of dehydration (See “Preventing Dehydration” fact sheet).
- Has a seizure.
- Is unable to move an arm or leg.
- Is confused or not waking up.
- Improves and then symptoms return.
Caring for the ill at home
Most people with influenza can be cared for at home. If the pandemic becomes severe and hospitals become crowded, even more people will need to be cared for at home.
- Caring for the Ill at Home
Instructions on taking temperatures and other vital signs, giving bed baths, and other skills that can be helpful when caring for people with influenza at home.
Staying home - how long?
Caring for others while sick
How Long Should a Person with Influenza-Like Illness Stay Home
Updated 9/22/09 11:00 AM
On this page:
Children
K-12 School
Pre-K
Higher Education
Adults
| Children | Stay Home for…… |
K-12 School |
School-aged child
(general education classroom) | 24 hours after fever is gone without fever-reducing medication |
School-aged child in a program
or school for medically fragile students | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
School-aged child in a program
or school for pregnant/parenting teens | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
Pre-K: Childcare and Early Childhood Education Programs |
| Child in childcare program, early childhood education program, or preschool | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
| Child in K-12 schools who attend a childcare program, early childhood education program or preschool | Check with the childcare or program director, exclusion period will
depend on the ability of the program to separate pre-K children from school-aged children. For the time they are in a K-12 school, K-12 exclusion (above) would apply. |
| Higher Education (colleges/universities) | Stay Home for…… |
| Students enrolled in colleges/universities (if the student is in a health professions program see exclusion for healthcare workers) | 24 hours after fever is gone without fever-reducing medication
|
| Adults | Stay home for… |
| Work in K-12 education programs and schools for medically fragile students | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
| Work in K-12 education programs and schools for pregnant/parenting teens | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
| Work in childcare, early childhood education, or preschools with pre-K children | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
| Work in childcare, early childhood education or preschools with children 5 years and older | Check with their childcare or program director, exclusion period will depend on the ability of the program to separate pre-K children from school-aged children |
| Work in a healthcare facility*** | 7 days after symptoms began, or 24 hours after resolution of acute symptoms**, whichever is longer |
| Not in the categories listed above | 24 hours after fever is gone without fever-reducing medication |
*This table reflects MDH recommendations as of September 18, 2009. Facility or institutional policy may vary.
**A person could return to regular activities if they have lingering symptoms like a cough as long as the exclusion period has otherwise been met (a cough that persists after other symptoms are gone is not an acute symptom).
*** People who work in healthcare settings should check with their employer’s policy to determine exclusion based on patient contact.