These guidelines provide general information about influenza, its risk to health (particularly in the elderly) and recommendations for managing respiratory outbreaks in residential and aged care facilities.
When an outbreak of respiratory illness is present (suspected/confirmed) there are a number of actions required to reduce the risk of further transmission within the facility and to manage the outbreak effectively and efficiently.
The actions that should be undertaken immediately by the facility and its staff, particularly during the initial stages are listed here and will be explained in detail in the document.
These actions are:
- Determine if you do have an outbreak – Section 2.1
- Implementing infection prevention and control strategies in addition to standard precautions -Section 2.2
- Notification to the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria – Section 2.3
- Obtaining nose and throat swabs – Section 2.6 and Appendix 7