Media Advisory

Controlling asthma in schools: CDC’s focus for asthma awareness month

May is Asthma Awareness Month. Throughout May, CDC will feature new information and updates about the success of CDC’s National Asthma Control Program with a special focus on children and adolescents by debuting facts sheets, an asthma awareness podcast and new instructional videos on inhaler use for use by individuals with asthma and clinicians. On Friday, May 3, from 1-2 pm (EDT), CDC will join the American Lung Association in a Twitter chat to discuss ways to manage asthma better and how to develop Asthma Action Plans for both children and adults. 

What

Asthma Twitter Chat featuring CDC and ALA experts

• Dr. Robin Ikeda, Acting Director for the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, CDC

@CDC_DrIkeda; twitter.com/CDC_DrIkeda

• ALA’s air quality and asthma management experts

@LungAssociation; twitter.com/LungAssociation

Who

CDC’s National Asthma Control Program and the American Lung Association (ALA)

When

Friday, May 3, 2013, from 1–2 p.m. (EDT)

How

Submit questions on Twitter to @CDC_DrIkeda and @LungAssociation. Use #asthma in your messages to join the conversation. No registration is required. 

Background

Asthma is a leading chronic illness among children and adolescents in the United States.  It is also one of the leading causes of school absenteeism.   In a classroom of 30 children, on average, three students are likely to have asthma.  Each year, asthma causes more than 10 million missed school days. The exact cause of asthma is unknown and the condition cannot be cured.  It is one of the most common long-term diseases of children, causing repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and night time or early morning coughing.

CDC’s National Asthma Control Program (NACP) funds 36 state and territorial state asthma programs. NACP’s major school-based activities include formal training and education for school personnel, guidance for maintaining healthy indoor air quality and reducing asthma triggers in school buildings as well as teaching students how to self-manage their condition and support implementation of laws that allow children to use their asthma medicines while at school.

For more information on CDC’s National Asthma Control Program and Asthma Awareness Month:
http://www.cdc.gov/asthma

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES