Nearly 300 schools–172,000 students are affected–scattered around the country closed as the nation’s swine flu caseload passed 120 Thursday, and U.S. authorities pledged to eventually produce enough vaccine for everyone — but said shots couldn’t begin until fall at the earliest.
Source: April 30, 2009 – Swine Flu Shuts 300 Schools across the Country

Here’s an excerpt of the news release from Fort Worth ISD:

Fort Worth – The Fort Worth Independent School District will temporarily close McLean Middle School, McLean 6^th Grade Center, South Hills Elementary School and Westcliff Elementary School effective tomorrow, Thursday, April 30, 2009. Superintendent Melody Johnson has made the decision to close the school for the safety and security of the children, faculty and employees. The affected schools will remain closed until May 10, 2009 and reopen May 11, 2009.

For more on Swine Flu, watch this video on proper handwashing (Shared by Craig Jackson at Mississippi State University). Of course, for a child audience, THIS video on Washing hands from BrainPop Jr is MUCH better (smile). More handwashing videos at the bottom….

Given the swine flu, would it be unreasonable to encourage regular disinfection of campus/dept computer labs?

If not unreasonable, what procedures–along with instructions–do you have in place for disinfecting keyboards, mice, and headphones? What products do you use to accomplish the disinfection?

An alcohol based disinfectant—such as Lysol disinfectant wipes—should be applied at the end of every school day. This would affect computer labs, classroom computers, and computers in regular use.

This resulted in several responses from Technology Directors in Texas…I thought I’d share their responses:

• My lab teachers use Lysol disinfectant hand wipes to clean keyboards on a regular basis…but classroom teachers should probably also practice this procedure. Good point!
• We have been using any wipes that have alcohol in them. We made the announcement that the teachers turn off the computers before they clean the keyboards otherwise we would end up with all sorts of problems. We are trying this every day right after school throughout the school.
• And from the Rich get Richer category (and the Austin American Statesman political blog):

  Dr. John Zerwas, R-Fulshear, offered some free medical advice to his colleagues in the House of Representatives to avoid the swine flu: wash your hands.

  Better yet, he said, douse them with Purell hand sanitizer.

  According to Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, the legislators will have all the Purell they need, courtesy of the Texas Medical Association. What a perk.

  
  Why doesn’t the TMA donate it to schools as well? Sigh.

• Of course the over use of sanitizers is a contributing cause of the superbug infections we are starting to see.
• I am disinfecting my lab with disinfecting wipes. I wipe the counters, keyboards, and computers down with this each six weeks.
• Our Maintenance Dept will provide Clorox wipes for campuses that can be used by teachers after computers have been used in labs or on laptop carts. Maintenance does not do this on a regular basis, so we are asking the teachers to take precautions.

What advice would you add?

UPDATE: Sample letter

Here’s a sample letter drafted by folks in a San Antonio, Tx school district…thanks to those who shared it:

Although there are currently no confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Bexar County and consequently no restrictions for the area, we understand there may be concerns related to

disinfecting objects used by multiple people such as computer equipment.

As a preventative measure, we encourage all campuses to disinfect all computers as well as keyboards, mice, and headsets that see frequent use in our schools. An alcohol based disinfectant, such as Lysol disinfectant wipes, should be applied to all computer equipment at the end of every school day.

Below is a listing of general tips that should be taken when cleaning any of the components of a computer as well as tips to help keep a computer clean:

1. Never spray or squirt any type of liquid onto any computer component. If a spray is needed, spray the liquid onto a cloth and then use that cloth to rub down the component.

2. When cleaning a computer, turn it off before cleaning.

3. Never get any part inside the computer damp or wet.

4. When cleaning, be careful not to accidentally adjust any knobs or controls. In addition, when cleaning the back of the computer, if anything is plugged in, make sure not to disconnect any of the plugs.

Cleaning the computer helps to prevent the spreading of germs. Therefore, you are encouraged to disinfect all computer equipment at least once a day.

Update 04/30/2009: Here are some additional resources developed by Larry Ferlazzo and his students:

• List of Online Resources – http://tinyurl.com/derrsu
• Multilingual Resources Created by Students
• Part 2 of Multilingual Resources

Swine Flu Related Videos/News:

• Houston Swine Flu Video
• Podcast from the Center for Disease Control on the Swine Flu virus
• Videos on the Swine Flu from the New York Times
• CNN Authorities Take No Chances

Handwashing Videos (thanks to Aporkalypse Now):

• Ernie and Bert: Everybody Wash
• What do we do before we eat?
• Wash your hands before you eat

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