The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, in its weekly syndromic registration, has noticed an increase of fever and respiratory cases, and is calling on the community to increase preventative measures such as practicing hand hygiene and cough etiquette in order to prevent the spread of influenza and other infections.
Symptoms of the flu include sudden onset of fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and a runny nose. The cough can be severe and can last two or more weeks. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week.
However, influenza can cause severe illness or death in high-risk groups such as pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy; children younger than five-years; people older than 65-years; people with chronic medical conditions such as HIV/AIDS, asthma, heart and lung diseases and diabetes; people with increased risk of exposure to influenza, which includes health care workers.
Members of the community are reminded that keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene and cough etiquette, are two of the most important steps one can take as well as to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. If you are sick with flu symptoms, minimize contact with others, consult your physician in regard to rest and recovery. Washing your hands should take 40 to 60 seconds.
Your hands should be washed after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Flu viruses are thought to spread mainly from person to person through the coughing, sneezing, or talking to someone with the flu or touching hard surfaces with the virus, such as counters, door knobs etc. The virus responsible for flu like symptoms is an airborne.
Flu viruses can also spread when people touch something with the flu virus on it and then tough their mouth, eyes, or nose. Many other viruses spread these ways too.
People infected with the flu may be able to infect others beginning from day one before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick. That means you may be able to spread the flu to someone else before you know you are sick.
Preventive actions entail: minimize close contact with sick persons and if not possible, ensure you use preventive measures not to contract or transmit the flu virus; cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (cough etiquette); throw the tissue in the trash after you use it; clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu and wash your hands.