The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) supports Arizona businesses in promoting behaviors that prevent the spread of influenza in the workplace.

Please consider passing along the following important information regarding protecting against and coping with the spread of flu in the workplace. When employers take flu prevention measures and employees take precautions, it results in a healthier and more productive workplace.

Educate employees about influenza-like symptoms. Symptoms of influenza-like illness include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or chills and a cough or sore throat. Other signs include runny nose, body aches, headache, diarrhea and vomiting.

Insist that sick employees stay home if they have flu-like symptoms. Sick employees should remain at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of fever (chills, warm feeling, flushed appearance or sweating). Employees should be fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications.

Do not require a doctor’s note for workers who are ill with influenza-like illness to validate their illness or to return to work. Health care providers may be extremely busy and unable to provide such documentation in a timely way.

Send employees home who get sick at work. If the employee cannot go home immediately, he or she should be separated from other employees.

Remind employees to wash their hands frequently and cover coughs and sneezes. Create a work environment that promotes education and, if possible, provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soaps, and alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas. Viruses can live for 2 to 8 hours on things like telephones, countertops, computer keyboards and doorknobs.

Encourage employees to get vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 Influenza and Seasonal Flu when vaccines are available. While vaccine supply is limited, providers are focused on vaccinating people at higher risk for complications, including pregnant women, health care workers and children ages 6 months to 4 years.

Additionally, ADHS has compiled a H1N1 Business Outreach Packet for distribution to the private sector. The compilation includes flyers, fact sheets, CDC’s Communication Toolkit for Businesses and Employers, and assorted ADHS reference documents.

For more information, visit www.StopTheSpread.org.

CDCBusinessToolkit

Business H1N1 Guidance