With the fall semester in high gear and Thanksgiving and winter breaks quickly approaching, many schools are on the lookout for another seasonal element that has the potential to disrupt their operations – the arrival of cold and flu season. Unlike other illnesses that are difficult to predict, each year, like clockwork, an army of respiratory viruses that cause cold and flu-like symptoms invades our schools, typically starting in the early fall and peaking between the months of December and February – though they appear to be starting early this year.
In fact, so many of these viruses are typically circulating that, on average, young children develop 6-10 viral respiratory tract infections each year!1 The best-case scenario is that these illnesses are contained, with sick students and staff staying home and the school continuing to operate with precautions in place. But in some cases (as we have seen during the pandemic), high levels of illness and student and staff absenteeism can trigger school closures, potentially disrupting much more than just a few days of learning.
What are the key viral threats this cold and flu season?
Rhinoviruses, influenza viruses, parainfluenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), enteroviruses, coronaviruses, and certain strains of adenovirus are potential causes of viral respiratory infections in children. While many of these viruses cause mild, cold-like illnesses that self-resolve over time, some, like influenza and certain enteroviruses, have the potential to cause severe illness, hospitalization, and even death. For example, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a non-polio enterovirus, has been infecting children in recent months, causing respiratory illness and, in some cases, a condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) – an uncommon but serious neurologic condition causing muscle weakness or paralysis.2
With respiratory viruses already starting to circulate – and many children's hospitals reporting surging cases3,4 – all signs indicate this will be a bad cold and flu season. Experts are anticipating a moderate to severe flu season for the U.S. based on trends in Australia.5 Additionally, ongoing surveillance data show increased amounts of rhinovirus, enterovirus, and EV-D68, which coincides with increased emergency department visits by children in late summer.2
With more circulating viruses – including the seemingly ever-present coronavirus – potentially lower immunity due to the lack of virus exposure over the past several years, and the disappearance of COVID precautions like masking and social distancing, many scientists worry that we will be more vulnerable to getting sick this coming cold and flu season.
Why are K-12 schools so susceptible to outbreaks of respiratory illness?
Schools are an active breeding ground for contagious respiratory viruses. Many viral respiratory illnesses spread when children's hands touch nasal secretions (containing virus) from an infected person. The virus can then enter the body when the child touches their nose, mouth, or eyes, causing infection. Children make good vectors for the spread of germs with their [often] less-than-perfect hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette and higher hand-to-mouth activity. Additionally, compared to adults, kids often are more vulnerable to infections because of limited prior immunity and high person-to-person contact, particularly in shared spaces like the school setting.
In colder months, with staff and students spending more time indoors, there is a huge potential to find germs throughout your school facility. In fact, one study showed that half of all common buildings were contaminated with the flu virus!6 To make matters worse, once a surface is contaminated, it's possible for some of these viruses to live and potentially infect people for days!7,8
How can you help stop the spread of these viruses through your school?
Obviously, schools don't want sick kids and staff; healthy students learn better, and healthy teachers teach better. So, it's critical to be prepared to reduce the impact of this formidable army of respiratory viruses.
With cold and flu season upon us, now is the time to prepare – and an essential preventive step is to encourage your staff and students to get vaccinated. It's safe and is the best way to prevent common illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 and can help prevent severe illness and complications for those who do get sick.9,10 If appropriate, consider providing educational resources, enlisting the support of healthcare providers, and/or hosting a school vaccination clinic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), maintaining a clean environment and providing easy access to hygiene products and supplies is one easy way to help prevent the spread of cold and flu-like illnesses in schools.11 Here is a list of steps that you can take to make your surface cleaning more effective to help minimize the spread of illnesses in your schools this upcoming cold and flu season.
Step 1 – Have a cleaning plan. Ensure all maintenance staff (or any staff, like teachers, participating in surface hygiene) are aware and trained on day-to-day cleaning and disinfecting procedures and what to do in the event of an outbreak of respiratory illness.
Step 2 – Review your inventory of hygiene supplies. Hygiene products should be stocked, appropriate for use, and in-date (not expired). Consult your surface disinfectant labels for EPA registration and to check that they're effective against common germs like coronavirus and the influenza A (flu) virus. All disinfectants are different, so make sure to follow the label instructions to ensure it's being used correctly to kill these viruses – including following contact time instructions (how long the surface must remain wet to kill germs). Finally, some disinfectants are more toxic than others, so chose EPA Category IV products that are the lowest toxicity and contain actives like ethyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or citric acid. (For more information on this topic, read my blog, “What Chemicals Are In Your School's Cleaning Products?”
Step 3 – Focus frequent disinfection on high-touch surfaces. Surfaces touched by more hands are more likely to be contaminated with germs. These include handrails, doorknobs or handles, light switches, touch screens, keyboards/mice, shared learning items/toys, desks, tables, and chairs. Don't miss shared surfaces in places where food or drink is consumed, such as lunch trays, beverage stations, shared condiment displays, water coolers/fountains, and microwaves and refrigerators in breakrooms and cafeterias. And, remember to increase the frequency of disinfection during an outbreak.
Step 4 – Ensure proper product placement. Hygiene products should be placed conveniently to promote their use by more than just maintenance staff. Ensure disinfectant sprays or wipes are available so teachers can help to keep their classrooms clean. In shared common areas like conference rooms, breakrooms, cafeterias, and gyms, place disinfectant products so staff can help keep shared surfaces clean between professional cleanings. Remember, surface disinfectants should never be used by children and should be kept out of their reach.
Step 5 – Educate staff and set hygiene expectations. Emphasize and reinforce the importance of hygiene to all employees and what actions they can take to help prevent the spread of germs in their school, including staying home if they are sick.
Worry-Free and Effective Solutions
PURELL® surface sanitizer and disinfectant sprays and wipes contain ethanol as the active ingredient, do not contain harsh chemicals or fumes, and have earned the EPA's lowest allowable toxicity rating (Category IV), so they don't require gloves, handwashing, or rinsing after use – even on food-contact surfaces. They kill many organisms in 30 seconds, including human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the germs that cause colds, flu, and stomach bugs. PURELL® surface wipes kill RSV in 15 seconds and sprays kill RSV in 30 seconds. PURELL® surface sprays are also offered with a battery-powered sprayer to help kill germs on surfaces even faster. Fragrance-free options are available. For more information, visit GOJO.com/surfaces.
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This is the fifth post in a blog series that GOJO scientists and clinicians are doing to help you and your business prepare for germs that will be circulating this winter. Please subscribe to the GOJO blog to be notified when a new blog posts so you don’t miss upcoming posts. If you missed them, please read: