As H1N1 Spreads, Colleges Across the Nation Prepare

[Commonground]

September 21, 2009 - 12:00am
By Dawn Lim


<!-- google_ad_section_start -->Since the Centers for Disease Control called for colleges to take on a flexible, tailored approach to dealing with H1N1 outbreaks, schools have been implementing varied responses to find the proper balance between taking precautions against the spread of the virus and minimizing disruptions to university life.
Related:

• Cornell vs. H1N1: Admins Coordinate Campus Effort
• Facing Pandemic Threat, Cornell Gears Up for H1N1

According to a survey from the American College Health Association, Washington had the nation?s highest rate of H1N1 during the peak period in the state: 366.8 cases of the flu for every 10,000 students. New York State had 6.5 cases of the flu for every 10,000 students at its peak.
Considering the varying degrees of magnitude at which campuses have been affected by the flu, and the diversity of campuses across the US, ?Institutions of higher learning should tailor the guidance to account for the size, diversity and mobility of their students, faculty and staff,? said the CDC, when it released guidelines on how universities should to deal with influenza outbreaks during the 2009-2010 academic year.
At Washington State University ? which has seen over 2,500 suspected cases of the flu since the start of the semester ? classes are in full swing for the 18,000 students on its Pullman campus.
WSU spokesperson James Tinney said, ?Each university is just figuring out how to deal with the situation. We have a plan, but we need to respond to the situation as it changes.?
Cornell, which reported 623 cases of probable H1N1 flu and one death from H1N1 flu complications last week, is similarly maintaining daily operations while continuing to monitor the situation.
In a statement released on Wednesday, President David Skorton reiterated that unless the level of absenteeism on campus became so high that instruction and normal operations were significantly impaired, business would be as usual.
?There currently are no plans to suspend normal instruction for any period of time,? he stated.
The Cornell administration has chosen not to issue mandates from the top-down, but called instead for its teaching faculty to exercise discretion in making accommodations for sick students. In his letter to teaching faculty dated on Aug. 25, Dean Kent Fuchs encouraged the professors to ?develop robust systems to communicate with ill students about their individual situations and also about the status of the course.?
?Given the very diverse modes of instruction across campus, there is no intent on the part of the University to mandate any specific academic measures or accommodations,? President Skorton said.
Other schools, however, are putting out more concrete guidelines to teaching staff.
Take for instance, Emory University, a private college in Georgia with 12,755 students. In a flu advisory to faculty dated Sept. 8, Dr. Claire Sterk, Emory?s senior vice provost for academic planning and faculty development, included a ?one-third? guideline, instructing teaching faculty to cancel class if more than one-third of the students were absent. Dr. Sterk also asked faculty members to consider technologies like blogs, iTunes and chat rooms as alternative teaching platforms.
With at least 125.6 out of 10,000 students showing influenza-like symptoms at the peak of its outbreak, Georgia?s influenza rate is second highest in the country, according to the health survey. Got soap?: Tiffany Chan ?11 of C.U. Emergency Medical Service distributes soap on Ho Plaza on Friday to help stop the spread of H1N1.
Emory, which reported more than 200 cases of flu-like illness in the first two weeks of the semester, has also set aside a dorm on its campus where students infected with H1N1 can recover. The dorm is not an official quarantine ward but a self-isolation facility where students check out after going 24 hours without a fever or medication. However, students are able to leave whenever they want. About 50 students have been through its doors.
Florida?s Eckerd College, where 80 percent of students live on campus, has focused instead on sick students? roommates, offering to move those at risk to other dorm rooms or possibly hotels. Similarly, Princeton Univer*sity has designated rooms in a redeveloped residential complex that has not been filled yet for students with pre-existing medical conditions to relocate if their roommate gets sick, said Emily Aronson, a spokesperson for the university.
Hamilton College in New York plans to deliver food crates and ?flu kits? with tissues and thermometers to moderately ill students in their rooms, while moving more seriously ill students to isolated housing, according to the Associated Press.
Cornell University and WSU, however, are not making plans to quarantine students with flu-like symptoms from the rest of the community.
?The CDC does not recommend that colleges and universities isolate students with influenza-like illness,? said Claudia Wheatley, director of Cornell?s Office of Press Relations.
?For one thing, a student has been contagious for a day or more by the time symptoms develop, and has already had a chance to transmit the flu to the people he or she spends the most time with. Formal quarantining at that point isn?t going to help much.?
Instead, Cornell students who are ill have been told to stay at home, maintain six feet of distance from others, and wear a face mask if they must go out in public until they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours. Like Penn State students, Cornell students on meal plans may ask a friend to pick up meals to be delivered to them, whether they live on or off campus.
Although this summer saw 52 colleges and universities formally canceling study abroad trips to Mexico, the Cornell Abroad office is not aware of any program closures for this fall. There are two students in studying abroad in Mexico this fall.
In countries of the Southern Hemisphere, such as Argentina and Chile, the number of H1N1 cases is decreasing as the weather warms, said Richard Gaulton, director of Cornell University?s Cornell Abroad program.
?A number of Northern Hemisphere countries may be seeing increases as we get into their fall season, so it is crucial that students abroad stay abreast of the conditions in their specific location,? he said
The office has sent fall students who are studying abroad information on precautions to take while abroad, as well as alerted them to information sources on H1N1 in the country where they are studying. There will be about 20 students in Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa; as well as another 120 in Northern Hemisphere countries ? including Europe, Asia, parts of Africa and the Americas north of the Equator ? this fall.
Across the board, schools have been putting out as much information about the flu in order to ensure that students take the necessary safety precautions.
?People who fully inform themselves about the nature of H1N1 are more likely to assess the risks in a reasonable manner and to take precautions to protect themselves and others,? Wheatley said.
At the same time, administrations have tried to strike a balance between being cautious and alarmist.
?We are trying to walk a fine line in telling students what to do, so they don?t take the situation as a cause for panic,? Tinney said.
National limelight: Tanya Babich of ABC 9 WSYR reports from in front of Gannett Health Services on Thursday.

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/09/21/h1n1-spreads-colleges-across-nation-prepare

[Pathfinder]

Re: As H1N1 Spreads, Colleges Across the Nation Prepare

Updated: 2:51 PM Sep 22, 2009

Students And H1N1 Mingle On Campus

Posted: 2:51 PM Sep 22, 2009 (CNN) --


The reminders are everywhere: Wash your hands. Use hand sanitizers. Stay away from class if you're sick.

Cornell student Vishnu Patel wears a "Got Soap" shirt as he spreads awareness about the flu.

College students said they're reminded nearly daily about flu prevention by e-mail updates, posters and ubiquitous hand sanitizer dispensers around campus. Yet, despite the pervasive prevention messages, many students said they're not too worried. Those who have been sick said it was no different than the seasonal flu.

"Students are going about their business as normal," said Dr. James Turner, the executive director of the department of student health at the University of Virginia. "They're asking, 'What's the big deal?' Some of them are aggravated. Those that are sick report feeling miserable. They recover uneventfully and go on. There's more anxiety among parents and staff trying to respond on campus to various needs."

Since August, 13,434 cases of the flu have been reported by the 253 schools contributing data to the American College Health Association. Of the cases, there have been 21 hospitalizations. This data do not include all U.S. universities.

"There's plenty of opportunity to spread infections," said Turner, who is also president of the association. He noted that students "tend to socialize in large groups, frats, bars, sharing the drinking glasses, smoking material. They're in real close contact, densely packed into parties which are all breeding grounds for infections."

Two student deaths related to the flu have been reported this school year. Andrew Salter, a freshman at Troy University in Troy, Alabama, died on September 5. The student had the flu, possibly H1N1, before he was hospitalized for pneumonia, according to a university spokesman.

Six days later, Cornell University student Warren J. Schor, 20, died of complications related to H1N1 flu, according to a statement released by the Ithaca, New York, university.

Since school started in mid to late August, the Southeast had a high rate of H1N1 infection, but those rates are dwindling, while in other areas the rates are increasing, Turner said.

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"We're seeing increasing rates in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic areas," he said. "This has to do with when schools start classes... We're going to see regional outbreaks, timed around when classes are reconvening."

When David Accame returned for his sophomore year at the University of Maryland, College Park, he wasn't worried about H1N1.

"There's always the risk of sickness when you're around so many people in close quarters," said Accame, who lives in the dorms. "I didn't think anything of it more than a regular cold."

Then in early September, Accame came down with a headache, stuffy nose, cough, sore throat and a 103-degree fever. After taking Tamiflu, Accame recovered in a few days. His illness sparked some anxiety among his roommates.

"Both my roommates sprayed down everything. They sprayed my bed with Lysol, all the silverware, desk, everywhere," he said.

Other than the brief illness, Accame said "this school year has been the same as the last."

Some have opted for a humorous approach, forming Facebook groups such as "not living on campus and as a result, not having swine flu" and "We hate swine flu affected students."

Several students said they are aware of the risks and are taking precautionary measures. Blog: Back to school flus

Michelle Zeng, a Cornell senior, said, "I definitely wash my hands more often and try to get more rest than usual to help my immunity more. I still go to class. My regular daily routine, I don't think it changed that much."

Angelica Geter, a graduate student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, noted that people get tense when a classmate coughs nearby. "Everyone says, 'Are you feeling OK? Have you been to the doctor?'"

Emory formed a voluntary isolation unit for students who become ill. Since the unit opened, 131 students have checked into the dorm, and as of last Friday, all had checked out, according to a university spokeswoman.

Earlier this month, Dan Tapiero, an Emory sophomore, was kicked out by his three roommates when he got sick. "They were polite about it," he said.

He stayed at the isolation unit for four days doing homework, surfing the Web and catching up with classes. Having the H1N1 flu wasn't terrible despite the forced exile, he said.

"It's like the regular flu. You feel sick for one or two days," Tapiero said. "I felt like the media was using scare tactics about the swine flu."

Health Library
MayoClinic.com: H1N1 flu
The difficulty for schools is letting students know about H1N1 risks without spreading panic, said James Tinney, director of media relations at Washington State University. "I think students have gotten the message. A lot of the students interviewed by the media outlets, their message back has been 'This is over-hyped. It's not that big of a deal.'"

Earlier this month, the university had more than 2,600 possible flu cases surface. By Monday, WSU's flu blog reported that health services were in contact with 32 students with flu-like illness.

Officials at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, canceled its first home football game because several players had flu-like symptoms. After that forfeit, the team played the next two games.

But for most universities, events and classes have continued uneventfully.

"National, state and local health officials have told us there is no reason to cancel events at Cornell," Claudia Wheatley, director of the Cornell press relations office, wrote in an email. "The vast majority of our students are very healthy and anxious to enjoy our traditional fall activities, like football games and so on." For two weeks, the school's InterFraternity Council canceled large social events out of health concerns.

"Too often, as college students, we think we're invincible," said Cornell senior Eddie Rooker, president of the InterFraternity Council. "I think people are understanding how serious their health is and how their actions can affect their peers."

http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/60326417.html

[SolarD]

Viral defense is vitamin D dependent

Check out the November 2007 article in The Scientific American entitled :
Cell Defenses and the Sunshine Vitamin

as well as John Cannell's Article in Virology Journal:
On the Epidemiology of Influenza

We can prevent most cases of influenza by supporting vitamin D blood levels during the school year.

[Snowy Owl]

Re: As H1N1 Spreads, Colleges Across the Nation Prepare

You know what if First Nations can communicate World Wide, why not Colleges.

S?l?nium, Vitamin D3, Schools out for Coughers, keep studying, being immune, going forward, getting trough, serve.

Snowy

[Pathfinder]

Re: As H1N1 Spreads, Colleges Across the Nation Prepare

Get your own beer! Swine flu is on campus

By Dorie Turner
Associated Press Writer / September 23, 2009


ATLANTA?

It's lurking in that awesome party just off the quad, hiding in the shot glasses passed from person to person and in the make-out sessions in the hallway.

Swine flu is swirling through the nation's campuses, but despite all the warnings, flu kits and prominently displayed jugs of hand sanitizer, many students, like Georgia Tech freshman Elise Woodall, just aren't that worried.

"I drink my orange juice," she said. "I figure I'll be OK."

College administrators around the country are faced with a nearly insurmountable challenge: trying to stem the spread of the highly contagious swine flu virus amid the almost round-the-clock microbe-swapping behaviors of college students -- many of whom are not all that concerned about the impending bug.

Since the first day of classes, colleges have asked students to isolate themselves once they begin coughing and sneezing, but the mild nature of this strain of flu has some students ignoring that advice, health center officials said. And just a few people with flu at a Saturday football game -- which can mean 100,000 people in a stadium at some colleges -- can turn into dozens more cases sitting in the waiting room of the student health center on Monday.

"When you're in the stadium with 90,000 of your closest friends, it's not exactly great infection control, especially when I look around and see people sharing a Coke," said Alan Blinder, a sophomore at the University of Alabama. "I know people are aware of the advice, but I don't know if they are applying it."

From random hookups at fraternity parties to the passing of beer cans in dorm rooms, germs have always made the rounds on campuses with the speed of a viral video.

"There's not a better way of transmitting germs than packing hundreds of young people into poorly ventilated party rooms and sharing glasses, smoking materials, playing beer pong and kissing," said Dr. James Turner, president of the American College Health Association and executive director of student health at the University of Virginia.

Combine higher education's already germ-soaked environment with the largely unpredictable flu bug, and epidemiologists fear the pandemic could explode this fall and winter as the seasonal flu and swine flu both hit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even went as far as to recommend sick students wear surgical masks when they kiss.

Turner's association estimates more than 13,000 college students have had flulike symptoms in the last month at 250 colleges spread across the country, though there is no way to tell how many of those are swine flu because health officials are no longer testing every sick student. That data is the most comprehensive look at how the swine flu is playing out at colleges, though the numbers don't account for all the country's 4,300 degree-granting institutions.

So far, two students have died from the flu -- one at Troy University in Alabama on Sept. 4 and one at Cornell University on Sept. 11. Health experts say those numbers will grow as more students with other health problems contract the virus.

Even so, on most college campuses, student life in the era of swine flu bears pretty close resemblance to student life before the bug arose. Students still shuffle between classes, stopping to chat in hallways and the library, with the only really noticeable difference being the vats of sanitizing gel sitting in most common spaces.

Georgia Tech sophomore Christopher Bryan said he tries not to touch door knobs and hand rails where he knows germs are easily shared, but the Panama native said he's not really changed his behavior otherwise.

"There is always a concern about getting sick, but swine flu is everywhere, not just here," he said waiting for a shuttle on the Atlanta campus.

Colleges are offering isolation dorms for sick students, providing ample hand sanitizing gel and sending multiple e-mails about proper hand-washing techniques.

For Emory student Anand Saha, the chills, sore throat and fever started after he attended an Indian dance workshop on campus that packed 50 students into a tiny room. Saha has his own bedroom in his dorm, so he isolated himself there instead of going to the residence hall for sick students.

Now, the Memphis, Tenn., native, who is a resident assistant in his dorm, said he uses hand sanitizer as much as possible and has **** up posters on how to avoid getting swine flu in his dorm.

"College life fosters close living, whether it's in residence halls or with sports teams that spend a lot of time with each other," said Saha, a neuroscience major. "It's a lot of interaction with a lot of different people on a daily basis. Classes are pretty big, and a lot of times you have people breathing down your neck or you're elbow to elbow with other people."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/09/23/get_your_own_beer_swine_flu_is_on_campus/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

[tropical]

Re: As H1N1 Spreads, Colleges Across the Nation Prepare

#2, news text:
""Both my roommates sprayed down everything. They sprayed my bed with Lysol, all the silverware, desk, everywhere," he said."


Seems times came for washing heads by Lysol ...
(DON'T DO IT, IT'S A JOKE!)

#5: "Classes are pretty big, and a lot of times you have people breathing down your neck or you're elbow to elbow with other people.""


Maybe to start make kidy soap bubbles, or permanent garglings to decontaminate the breath and splashings ("all what is needed to inculcate educational issues" ...)