Faced with an infection or ailment in the classroom?
This page was created with educators in mind. Southwestern Public Health and the Middlesex-London Health Unit have co-produced a resource called "A Guide to Common Childhood Infections."
This guide will help you determine your role in the event a child attending your school or day care has an infectious and/or reportable disease. This resource provides general information about:
- Signs and symptoms of common childhood infections
- How infections spread
- How to prevent spread of infection
- When to exclude someone from school and/or daycare
- When to report an infection to your local public health unit
The Canadian Pediatric Society has an excellent resource on its Caring for Kids website called "Health Conditions and Treatments" that you may also find useful.
Infection Prevention and Control Measures
Not all infections are created equal. Communicable diseases spread in many ways, and impact people differently.
Inspections spread through:
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Contamination of skin, clothing, contaminated equipment, or surfaces
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Exposure to blood, body fluids, broken skin and mucous membranes.
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Breathing in air borne diseases
How to Stay Safe
The best protection against any infectious disease is consistent, healthy habits.
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Wash your hands regularly
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Practice good respiratory etiquette (cover your coughs, use a tissue etc)
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Stay home if you are sick
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Follow safe food preparation practices (wash your food well, cook your meat thoroughly, properly store your food etc)
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Keep your spaces clean and disinfected
For additional information on infection and prevention and control, visit our Infection Prevention page.
Head Lice
Head lice are small insects that can live on your scalp. They do not cause illness. Anyone can get head lice.
Download our Head Lice Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions to learn more.
COVID-19
As COVID-19 continues to evolve and so does the information around its management in education settings, we will update our COVID-19 and Schools webpage.