One of the recommendations about swine flu from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that businesses review their leave policies. Here’s why this is particularly important during the spread of H1N1:

This strain of flu seems to spread more through the air and perhaps not at all through physical contact.

So even if sick employees come to work and keep to themselves, they may infect others just by spewing the virus into the air.

So the message to employees this fall and winter should be: If you have the flu, go home and stay there until you’re well.

And companies may have to modify their attendance policies to help encourage that.

You’d think from reading some of the media coverage that all any of us have to do to keep from getting H1N1 is wash our hands frequently.

But despite that recommendation from all sorts of health authorities, including the CDC, members of the medical community aren’t in complete agreement about the importance of hand washing.

A Newsweek article quotes doctors on both sides of the issue. Some experts say there is no evidence that flu is spread through physical contact. Some studies seem to indicate its sole method of transmission is through the air.

Take-home for businesses: Your strongest defense against a flu outbreak may not be the hand washing that even the President is recommending. Better bets: Tell employees to go home and stay home if they’re sick, and encourage them to get H1N1 shots when they become available in October.