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CHRISTCHURCH
CITY COUNCIL This newsletter has been prepared to highlight current Public Health Issues of interest to schools.
There have been a number of notifiable infectious disease cases reported to us lately where on investigation the sources of infection have been traced back to school camps. We consider it timely therefore to offer the following guidelines when planning camps and day trips. WATER Contaminated water can be a major source of disease causing organisms and it is important to ensure that the intended water supply is both clean and safe. If it is impractical to have the water supply tested or view recent test results, then alternative arrangements must be made, (these include) -
1. Boiling for at least 3 to 5 minutes (this is the preferred method). This water must be
used for drinking, preparing food, and brushing teeth. OTHER Where toilet access is
not available waste should be buried around 30 cm (1 ft) deep and at
least 50 metres away from all water supplies and recreational waterways. FUNDRAISING through FOOD SALES The continuing trend of using barbecues for cooking sausages etc, and the selling of other food items and products by various school groups for fundraising, has prompted us to prepare the following information as a guide to help those preparing and handling food use safe food handling practices.
We treat the above (for
non commercial operators) as "Occasional food premises" and as
such each fundraising venture must operate on not more than 4 days a
year. SERVING & SELLING SAFE FOOD  WASH YOUR HANDS - Before handling
any food. - Immediately after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, and going to the toilet. All food for sale must be prepared at premises registered under the Food Hygiene Regulations, (ie, sausages must be made at a registered butchers). All readily perishable foods (eg, sausages, meat, butter, etc) must be transported and stored at a temperature of 4° C or less until required for cooking or serving (this can be achieved by using portable refrigerators or chillibins with sufficient cooling pads. Food being prepared or displayed must be kept clean and free from contamination at all times and be protected from birds, vermin, insects and dust. This requires that bread, butter and other food must be kept in covered containers when not actually being used. All condiments such as sauce, mustard etc, must be kept in squeeze type dispensers, or individual sealed packs. The barbecue/cooking area may be in the open air providing the food is served direct to the customer from the barbecue (ie, no storage of cooked food in the open air). All benches and appliance surfaces must be smooth, impervious and easily cleaned. Suitable hand and utensil washing facilities must be provided. Provision must be made for rubbish disposal.
Schools have an important role to play by alerting their students to how they can protect themselves and each other from Meningococcal disease (and colds, flu, herpes/cold sores, etc). One simple and important way of protecting yourself is by avoiding contact with other people’s saliva. We enclose some Don’t Share Spit campaign posters and Meningococcal disease information pamphlets. We are hoping to raise awareness of spit-sharing behaviour, ie; sharing ~ sports drink bottles, glasses, bottles, cigarettes, lip balm, or spitting. Sharing drink bottles has been identified as a factor in several local meningitis cases. Ideally, students should have their own clearly identified bottle and avoid drinking from anyone else’s. If this is not possible, we strongly advise sports players to adopt the "non-touch" squeeze style when drinking from a shared bottle. Meningococcal Disease is a life-threatening disease but it can be treated successfully if caught in time. Symptoms include- fever with sweating, headache, vomiting, joint pains, aching muscles, stiff neck, sleepiness, confusion, dislike of bright lights, rash of tiny red/purple spots or bruises, unconsciousness. People with symptoms should not be left alone and should see a doctor immediately - night or day! Avoiding sharing spit is a way of protecting yourself, but it is not a guarantee, and the importance of seeking prompt medical advice is greatly stressed. We also stress that cases of the disease are rare and it is unlikely that any student will develop it. This information is given in the belief that it is better to be safe than sorry. Please help by sharing this information with your students (especially those in sports teams).
Most pools will be closed during the winter providing an opportunity to undertake necessary maintenance and thoroughly check all equipment. The following work should form part of any maintenance programme.
PUBLIC SAFETY It is necessary to ensure that the pool and its facilities are made safe during the winter close down period. Safety precautions should include-
Environmental Health Officers from the Environmental Monitoring Section are available to provide advice and assistance with all swimming pool matters and chemical and bacteriological testing procedures may be arranged through them. However charges will be made to recover costs involved.
Prepared
by the |
Christchurch City Council, PO Box 237, Christchurch Mail Centre, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
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