Flu prevention in long-term care facilities requires a multi-faceted approach
For the next six to eight months, long-term-care administrators and staff will need to be particularly vigilant to contain the spread of seasonal flu. Sales reps should address this topic with their customers before an outbreak occurs.
There is plenty of opportunity for flu to be introduced into long-term-care facilities – whether by newly admitted residents, healthcare workers or visitors – and immune-compromised residents can easily experience severe or fatal illness during outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following multi-faceted approach:
- Vaccination. All residents should receive trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) each year preceding flu season. (In fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has required nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs to offer all residents influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, document the results and report it as part of the CMS Minimum Data Set.) TIV generally is available to long-term-care facilities starting in September, and influenza vaccination should begin as soon as the vaccine is available. For residents admitted after the flu vaccination program has concluded, facility administrators and healthcare workers should have appropriate educational materials available to inform newcomers and discuss with them the benefits of vaccination.
- Testing. Regardless of whether it is flu season, when any resident has signs and symptoms of influenza-like illness, the CDC recommends testing – including nasal swabs, throat swabs, nasopharyngeal swabs, or nasopharyngeal or nasal aspirates. During a flu outbreak, facilities should conduct daily surveillance until at least one week following the last confirmed influenza case.
- Infection control. Caregivers should take standard precautions by wearing gloves and gowns when exposure to respiratory secretions is anticipated. Ill residents should be placed in private rooms, and caregivers should wear a facemask upon entering the room. If the resident is transported, he or she should wear a facemask as well.
- Antiviral treatment. All residents with confirmed or suspected influenza should receive antiviral treatment immediately.
- All eligible residents in the entire long-term-care facility should receive antiviral chemoprophylaxis as soon as an influenza outbreak is determined.
Influenza: The facts
Each year, seasonal influenza takes a toll on the country’s health, as well as its pocketbook. A 2007 study cited by Clorox Healthcare indicates that seasonal flu epidemics in the United States contributed to about 3.1 million hospitalized days, 31.4 million outpatient visits and 44 million lost days of productivity. Of the $10.4 billion annual medical costs, 27 percent is spent on treating patients between 50 and 64 years, and 40 percent (or $4.2 billion) is spent treating patients 65 years and over.
- Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. Seasonal flu typically is caused by human influenza A and B viruses.
- About 5 to 20 percent of U. S. residents get influenza each year, and more than 200,000 are hospitalized due to flu-related complications, including bacterial pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, dehydration, worsening of chronic medical conditions and, in some cases, death.
- Influenza can spread from one person to the next through the air from up to six feet away, via droplets from coughs and sneezes. It can also spread when people touch infected surfaces, such as countertops and doorknobs, and then touch their own mouth or nose.
- Ninety percent of influenza-related deaths and over 60 percent of influenza-related hospitalizations in the United States occur in people 65 years and older.
Source: Clorox Healthcare Influenza & Norovirus Prevention Tool Kit
2014-2015 vaccine
The 2014-2015 flu vaccine is designed to protect against the following viruses:
- A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus.
- A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)-like virus.
- B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus.
Part of the 2014-2015 flu vaccine also protects against an additional B virus (B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus). Vaccines that protect against three viruses are called trivalent vaccines, while vaccines that protect against four viruses are called quadrivalent vaccines.
Leave a Reply