University of Iowa: Stay out of class if you have swine flu

[Pathfinder]

UI: Stay out of class if you have swine flu
By Brian Morelli ? Iowa City Press-Citizen ? September 9, 2009

University of Iowa officials are telling faculty, staff and students to stay out of class if they think they have the H1N1 "swine flu" virus.

A doctor?s note is not required, either, they say.

?We want people to stay home until the fever is gone,? said Dan Fick, UI campus health officer.

In addition to urging people to stay away if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms, UI has taken some other steps to prevent a possible campus outbreak of H1N1.

UI is not encouraging people who believe they have H1N1 to visit health care providers, which could overwhelm doctor?s offices and potentially spread the virus to others, Fick said.

On the academic front, faculty have been asked to notify students that they should to stay away from class if sick, said Susan Johnson, UI associate provost for faculty, and students can?t get docked for it.

?Students that think they might have H1N1 are asked not to come to class, and they can?t have their grade affected by not coming to class,? Johnson said.

In lieu of a doctor?s note, students will have to fill out a special absence report, Johnson said.

On other campuses, H1N1 cases have run their course over five to seven days, which is normal for the flu, Fick said. That is a good sign.

No cases have been reported on campus yet this school year, Fick said, but it is not a reportable-illness disease, so authorities might not be aware of them.

?It is probably here. We are just not testing everyone,? Fick said.

Some of the panic about H1N1 is exaggerated, Fick said.

?People shouldn?t think of something like H1N1 as one being something like anthrax. It is something like the traditional flu,? Fick said.

Fick said the timing of the outbreak is strange, but UI is in good shape to deal with cases.

?It attacked at a weird time. The good news is it is still acting like every other type of influenza,? Fick said. ?It hasn?t shown to be any more dangerous than the other kinds of seasonal influenza; it?s just a different time.?

UI is requiring health care workers to receive H1N1 vaccination. However, Service Employees International Union Local 199, a union representing nurses at University of Iowa Hospitals, has asked the court to prevent the university from requiring employees to be vaccinated.


http://www.press-citizen.com/articl...n/UI--Stay-out-of-class-if-you-have-swine-flu

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: University of Iowa: Stay out of class if you have swine flu

UI Student Health: 150-200 students with H1N1 symptoms
By Lee Hermiston ? Iowa City Press-Citizen ? September 12, 2009

An estimated 150 to 200 University of Iowa students may have exhibited swine flu-like symptoms.

However, that estimate based on the number of patients at UI Student Health Service is not official as the university is not testing for that strain of influenza, and a UI official said that estimate is probably low.


?I?m assuming we?re going to have 1,000 kids at any one time with influenza symptoms,? said Dan Fick, UI campus health officer.

Fick said a better indication of how many cases of influenza are on campus will be a check of how many students have downloaded the special absence report for students who suspect they could have the H1N1 virus.

?We just don?t know,? Fick said. ?I think when it becomes prevalent in the dorms, then we?ll have a better idea. It may not end up being as big of a deal in the Midwest.?

Fick said H1N1 symptoms are similar to symptoms associated with other influenza strains ? fever, body aches, chills, runny nose and cough. He said the treatment and precautions are the same, as well. The H1N1 virus is around every year, Fick said.

?This year, there?s a different type that?s a little more contagious,? he said.

Students are being urged to increase their ?social distance? if they suspect they have H1N1, Fick said, and avoid groups of people. Students experiencing flu symptoms will have the option of having cafeteria food delivered to their rooms, but they are not being isolated or quarantined, Fick said.

UI is encouraging people with H1N1 symptoms to stay home from both the doctor?s office and classes to prevent the potential spread of the virus. A doctor?s note is not required for students who miss class, but students will have to fill out a special absence report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


http://beta.desmoinesregister.com/a...t-Health--150-200-students-with-H1N1-symptoms

 

[kiwibird]

Re: University of Iowa: Stay out of class if you have swine flu

To determine the safety of private wells, state environmental agencies have surveyed and tested wells. In Iowa, where anthropogenic inputs of nitrates due to intensive agriculture are high, a state-wide rural well-water survey was conducted. The survey was performed between April 1988 and June 1989, taking 686 samples from across the state. While the study was limited to Iowa, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources claims that the results can be extrapolated to other rural areas with intensive agricultural production. The natural background concentration of nitrate-nitrogen in Iowa is less than 2 mg/L. Higher concentrations indicate a loading from anthropogenic sources (Kross et al. 1993).

The study revealed that many private wells suffer from nitrate contamination; approximately 18.3% of Iowa's private, rural wells have NO -N concentrations exceeding the EPA health advisory level. Results also show that the contamination of shallow wells (less than 15m in depth) is much more prevalent than contamination of deep wells. Thirty-five percent of wells less than 15m deep exceed the 10 mg/L threshold. The mean concentration for these shallow wells was even over the health advisory limit (Kross et al. 1993). However, in Iowa contamination of deep wells has grown more common in recent years, indicating a more pervasive problem.

Doctors at the State University of Iowa Medical Center have encountered many babies suffering from diarrhea and other symptoms consistent with methemoglobinemia. After a battery of tests to determine the cause, it was found that all of these infants were being fed water from private wells in Iowa. The NO -N level of the water from these wells was found to range from 64 to 140ppm and the severity of the symptoms appears to roughly correspond to the nitrate levels in the water. Doctors from Cedar Rapids, Fort Dodge and hospitals across the state have documented many additional cases of apparent nitrate-induced methemoglobinemia (Comly, 1945).
http://www.reopure.com/nitratinfo.html

8 cases of methemoglobinemis in Wisconsin between 1990 and 1999:
http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.o...-Knobeloch.pdf

 

[kiwibird]

Re: University of Iowa: Stay out of class if you have swine flu

America - drought prone areas:

This study says Iowa has elevated nitrate levels.http://www.find-health-articles.com/...-carcinoma.htm

http://www.ehponline.org/members/1999/107p583-586avery/averytab1.GIF

 

[Niko]

Re: University of Iowa: Stay out of class if you have swine flu

?People shouldn?t think of something like H1N1 as one being something like anthrax. It is something like the traditional flu,? Fick said.

True. Anthrax isn't contagious.

?It attacked at a weird time. The good news is it is still acting like every other type of influenza,? Fick said. ?It hasn?t shown to be any more dangerous than the other kinds of seasonal influenza; it?s just a different time.?

...and a different age group!