November 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 78

OPERATIONS
Achoo...Are You Ready for the Flu?
By Katie Navarra

ne hundred years ago the most severe flu season swept the
globe. The 1918 influenza pandemic devastated entire communities. It took an estimated 675,000 American lives and more
than 50 million people worldwide, according to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC).
Thankfully, prevention and treatment protocols have significantly
advanced since then, but the flu is
still a virus that needs to be taken
seriously. Last year, according to
Kate Fowlie, a CDC press officer,
900,000 people suffering with the
flu were hospitalized and more
than 80,000 people died from [it].
Those were only preliminary statistics. Official estimates were scheduled to be released after this issue
went to press.
" These new estimates are record-breaking and emphasize the
seriousness and severity of flu ill-

ness, as well as serve as a strong
reminder of the importance of flu
vaccination, " Fowlie says.
In addition to infecting more
people than previous years, the
flu persisted at epidemic levels
longer than any other season on
record. Typically, peak flu season
lasts four to six weeks. " Last year,
it held steady at epidemic levels for
almost 10 weeks, " says Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology and immunology at Johns
Hopkins University Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
The first and most important

thing anyone can do to protect
themselves and others before flu
season is to get a vaccine. The CDC
and Pekosz emphasized the importance of encouraging employees
and facility users to get vaccinated.
" There is a growing body of evidence that supports the fact that
vaccination also reduces the risk of
serious flu outcomes that can result
in hospitalization and even death, "
Fowlie adds.
A 2017 CDC study was the first
of its kind to show that the flu
vaccination reduced the risk of
flu-associated death by half among
children with underlying high-risk
medical conditions, and by nearly
two-thirds among healthy children.
Flu vaccines aren't mandatory
and it's impossible to know if visitors or staff members have had
one. To help limit the spread of
the flu virus at your park and recreation facilities, Fowlie and Pekosz offer the following four tips any
park or recreation center can use
this flu season:
Install hand sanitizers near
high-traffic areas. At Johns
Hopkins University Bloomberg
School of Public Health, hand sanitizers are close to places like an
elevator button, door handles and
other surfaces that are used often.
Sanitize work spaces and
common areas. Clean and
disinfect surfaces and objects that
may be contaminated with germs
like the flu, including places that
you touch often.
" It's a good habit to get into
wiping down widely used surface
areas every few hours, " Pekosz

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November 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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