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What can parents do to keep our kids safe from H1N1?
Every school year there's a new flu season for parents to contend with.
I'm already thinking about all the lovely germs my four-year-old, about to start school for the first time this fall, is bound to bring home with him in about six weeks.
But this September we won't be dealing with just your average, run-of-the-mill, back-to-school cold or some sniffles. Most public-health experts believe there will be a second attack from the H1N1 virus this fall.
HN1N, also known as Swine Flu, is predicted to hit full-force by this September, and apparently the virus targets young adults - the Globe and Mail reported that the median age of those infected in Canada is only 18.
If the H1N1 virus is going to sweep across the country, university campuses are an obvious pit stop for the Swine Flu. Aside from the fact that it seems to target university-aged young adults, come September, there are going to be thousands of students packed into lecture halls, studying together in the library, and eating in the cafeteria. The perfect targets.
Its already been declared a pandemic. H1N1 is being compared to the 1918 Spanish Flu. Even if that's an exaggeration, the virus is still a scary reality. What if this next wave, about to strike just as our children are headed back to school, turns out to be more severe? Even deadly?
So how are university students going to be affected? Namely, what's going to happen to students who contract the Swine Flu? And what about those students in residence?
And how are universities preparing for this threat? What are universities doing to protect our children? What can parents do?
My two oldest have already taken some steps to minimize their exposure.
They'll be doing two of their electives by distance education and, with the exception of two labs - where their physical presence is required - their other courses could easily be done by podcast if necessary.
They'll be playing it by ear, waiting to see how big the threat is once they get back on campus this September.
Some universities, such as McGill, are readying their health clinics to isolate their very sick students. McGill is considering help lines so that less serious cases can avoid entering the clinics altogether.
Sports and extracurriculars could get the axe if the flu spreads quickly enough.
The University of Western Ontario has armed itself with masks, gloves and hand sanitizers. Dalhousie University has backup staff ready for the school year.
It's not hard to work yourself into a full-blown panic.
So what the heck is an effective strategy? Keeping all our kids home from school? Wearing a bio-hazard suit 24/7? In a crowded school system, is good cough-and hand-hygiene etiquette going to be enough?
Every teacher I spoke to said basically the same thing: Kids need to wash their hands.
"Not too long ago it was MRSA staph, now it's Swine Flu. And frankly, a lot of students aren't taught simple hygiene procedures at home," says Pam, a middle-school teacher.
My two oldest are well-versed in simple hygiene procedures. When they head back to school this September, they plan to have a bottle of hand sanitizer handy at all times. But it doesn't matter how germ-aware my two oldest are. The deciding factor: my four-year-old. The weakest link of the family. With Typohoid Mary sitting across the kitchen table, hand washing and hygiene habits could be completely undermined.
Most of the parents I spoke with seem calm. Some expressed concerns about the upcoming outbreak, but no one was overly panicked.
"Even though I have my sometimes laughable 'doomsday pantry' and I'm fairly disaster prepared in general, my trend toward worrying about the fall seems to be 'wait and see' for now," says Sam Jones, a parent of a high school student.
Like most of the parents I spoke with, she has tried to strike a balance between making her son aware of the necessity of proper hygiene technique, without causing him undo stress. But her son is involved in a lot of contact sports, and sharing of equipment, so she wants to ensure he does take some steps to minimize his risk.
"I stressed hand washing and trying to stay away from anyone noticeably sick. I feel like I've prepared him enough without causing him stress.
He doesn't seem worried, but he is aware."
But if she ever suspects her son isn't taking the threat seriously enough, she won't hesitate to make sure her son gets the message.
"I will say though with great conviction that if I come to the point where I think making him nervous will contribute to his safety - in the event that things are getting ominous - I have no qualms about turning up the fear-mongering."
Another parent, with a daughter starting Grade 2, says it's harder to keep younger kids protected from the virus.
"Sometimes I really worry about it. If your kid's in an older grade when this kind of thing hits, it's easier to keep them healthy and safe. A seven-year-old doesn't have the strongest immune system, and can't understand the importance of basic hygiene. Little kids do stupid stuff and don't even know how dangerous it is. What if someone sneezes on her in class?"
Words like "pandemic" and "high-risk category" might sound off alarm bells, but how serious is the threat?
Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, says that the Swine Flu continues to be a relatively mild virus.
And, unlike back in 1918, today we have antiviral drugs and antibiotics to treat influenza infections and secondary cases of pneumonia.
But still, as a parent of five school-aged children, I know I'll be watching, and still feeling a little anxious, as it all begins to unfold over the next six weeks.
(Editor: Information about what universities are doing to prepare for a possible H1N1 onslaught in the fall)
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KATHY DOBSON 
