People should assume that they will be exposed to the flu at some point, and with only enough vaccine for 1 in 10 people in Maine right now, we should all take precautions to prevent serious illness:
Stay home if you are sick, until you are fever-free for a full 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
Cough and sneeze into your elbow, or into a tissue. Throw this tissue away.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, but especially after coughing and sneezing. Alcohol-based hand gels can also be used.
Avoid touching your nose, mouth, and eyes. Germs can be spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Avoid contact with sick people. If you are at very high risk for complication, you may want to avoid large crowds.
When vaccine is available, consider getting both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines.
Contact your health care provider if there are flu-like symptoms in a household where anyone is younger than 2 years old, 65 years or older, pregnant, and/or has an underlying medical condition. There are prescription medicines (antivirals such as Tamiflu®) that may help.
Although most people can stay home to recover without seeing a health care provider, anyone with the flu should seek medical attention for:
Dehydration
Trouble breathing
Getting better, then suddenly getting a lot worse
Any major change in one’s condition
The information below is information for the public specific to H1N1 (“Swine Flu”). Details
for high risk groups and those who care for them can be found below or on the buttons on the left hand
side of this page. Information on other types of flu, as well as preparing for any pandemic can
be found by clicking on the buttons on the top left side of this page.
Can’t find the information you need?
General Public Call-in Number - 1-888-257-0990
NextTalk (deaf/hard of hearing) - (207)629-5751
Hours of operation:
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm
If you are looking for a place to get vaccinated for either seasonal
flu or H1N1 flu:
H1N1 PSA - four public service announcements with Dr. Dora Mills, Director, Maine CDC and comedian Bob Marley on H1N1.
H1N1 Fact sheet (Word | PDF) - gives basic information on the
h1N1 flu and getting vaccinated.
H1N1 What You Should Know - Power Point presentation containing
the basic information on H1N1 in a slide show format
Frequently Asked Questions - includes more basic
information on what the flu is, how you can prevent getting the flu, vaccinations for the flu
and what you should do if you get the flu
Good Health Habits Can Stop Germs -
basic information on preventing the spread of the flu and other illnesses, including printable
materials from the US CDC
Unlike seasonal flu, studies indicate people over the age of
64 have some immunity
to H1N1, which is probably why they are not being as commonly or severely affected by infection as
young people are.
CDC
flu information (pdf*) - Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School. Cover your cough or sneeze
if you do not have a tissue. Then, clean your hands, and do so every time you cough or sneeze.
Stopping
the Spread of Germs - Stop the Spread of Germs Healthy habits at home, work, & school;
Printable Materials, flyers & posters, Cover Your Cough, Germ Stopper Poster.
Clean Hands Saves
Lives - keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting
sick and spreading germs to others.
Ounce
of Prevention - Posters and brochures with general prevention messages
CDC
Free Flu Materials - This year’s seasonal flu materials are free for download—no
printed versions are available. They may be printed on a standard office printer, or you may
use a commercial printer. Emphasis remains on outreach to high-risk groups, as well as parents
of all children, health care workers, and people in the workplace.
Using Bleach and Other Disinfectants for the Flu Virus (Word*
| PDF*)
Hand-washing
BAM!
Body and Mind. Teacher's Corner - In this activity, students will conduct an experiment
on washing their hands. They will learn that "clean" hands may not be so clean after
all and the critical importance of washing their hands as a way to prevent the spread of disease.
CDC
TV - Put Your Hands Together (video) - Scientists estimate that people are not washing their
hands often or well enough and may transmit up to 80% of all infections by their hands
Cover
your Cough Posters - Stop the Spread of Germs that Make You and Others Sick! ... Printable
formats of "Cover Your Cough". Posters only available as PDF files
