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UW provides case study in handling H1N1 virus
By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Jan. 8, 2010
Wisconsin college officials looking at how they might handle an expected peak in swine flu cases as the spring semester starts can look to the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a case study.
More than 200 students were treated for flu-like symptoms during the first week of classes in September and nearly 400 were treated the second week. The outbreak tapered off about a month into the school year before a spike of flu-like symptoms in the general population hit the Madison campus again in early November.
UW was one of a handful of campuses nationwide that dealt with apparent large outbreaks of the novel H1N1 virus from the first day of classes, but the problem at colleges was widespread. The American College Health Association reported in early September that more than half of the 165 colleges and universities it surveyed had reported cases of influenza-like illness.
About 165 college students nationwide were hospitalized with flu-like symptoms in the fall; three died.
Swine flu vaccine wasn't available for students or many others until nearly the end of the semester. Schools had to find ways to help sick students keep up with their studies while at the same time isolating them to keep the virus from spreading.
"It's a large community where people are really working in close quarters," UW Health Director Sarah Van Orman said, noting that 9,000 of the school's 42,000 students live in dorms and many others live in group housing off campus.
"Most of us don't live with eight or 10 roommates," she said.
Efforts detailed
Van Orman described the efforts that Madison and other UW campuses took to manage the H1N1 virus during the fall and the efforts they will make in the spring during a meeting Friday with the UW System Board of Regents.
UW-Madison health officials had more sick students on their hands than other Wisconsin's schools. Marquette University student health service treated 302 students for flu symptoms during the entire fall semester.
But many of the efforts among campuses were similar: Placing signs around campus buildings encouraging sick students to stay home, teaching students to wash hands more often and to improve their sneezing etiquette, and spreading prevention messages via e-mail and social networking methods such as Twitter.
Once H1N1 vaccine was available for college-age students, campuses mobilized to get it distributed. UW-Madison distributed about 6,200 doses of the vaccine, short of the 20,000 doses officials had hoped to distribute. UWM distributed about 3,100 shots to its 29,000 students, and Marquette gave about 2,100 doses to its 11,700 students. UW-Whitewater gave about 1,000 injections.
Campuses are filled with 18- to 24-year-olds, an age group the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says seems vulnerable to the virus. Julia Bonner, director of UWM's Norris Health Center, said that once school officials had vaccine doses, they tried to target students that they knew were vulnerable, such as those with asthma, and to treat students such as those who work in child care with children too young to get the vaccine.
As the semester starts, there will be more emphasis on getting more students vaccinated and on keeping the campaign fresh.
"The point is to present it in new and different ways," Bonner said.
165 College students nationwide who were hospitalized with flu-like symptoms in the fall
3 Deaths among those students
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/81052452.html
By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Jan. 8, 2010
Wisconsin college officials looking at how they might handle an expected peak in swine flu cases as the spring semester starts can look to the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a case study.
More than 200 students were treated for flu-like symptoms during the first week of classes in September and nearly 400 were treated the second week. The outbreak tapered off about a month into the school year before a spike of flu-like symptoms in the general population hit the Madison campus again in early November.
UW was one of a handful of campuses nationwide that dealt with apparent large outbreaks of the novel H1N1 virus from the first day of classes, but the problem at colleges was widespread. The American College Health Association reported in early September that more than half of the 165 colleges and universities it surveyed had reported cases of influenza-like illness.
About 165 college students nationwide were hospitalized with flu-like symptoms in the fall; three died.
Swine flu vaccine wasn't available for students or many others until nearly the end of the semester. Schools had to find ways to help sick students keep up with their studies while at the same time isolating them to keep the virus from spreading.
"It's a large community where people are really working in close quarters," UW Health Director Sarah Van Orman said, noting that 9,000 of the school's 42,000 students live in dorms and many others live in group housing off campus.
"Most of us don't live with eight or 10 roommates," she said.
Efforts detailed
Van Orman described the efforts that Madison and other UW campuses took to manage the H1N1 virus during the fall and the efforts they will make in the spring during a meeting Friday with the UW System Board of Regents.
UW-Madison health officials had more sick students on their hands than other Wisconsin's schools. Marquette University student health service treated 302 students for flu symptoms during the entire fall semester.
But many of the efforts among campuses were similar: Placing signs around campus buildings encouraging sick students to stay home, teaching students to wash hands more often and to improve their sneezing etiquette, and spreading prevention messages via e-mail and social networking methods such as Twitter.
Once H1N1 vaccine was available for college-age students, campuses mobilized to get it distributed. UW-Madison distributed about 6,200 doses of the vaccine, short of the 20,000 doses officials had hoped to distribute. UWM distributed about 3,100 shots to its 29,000 students, and Marquette gave about 2,100 doses to its 11,700 students. UW-Whitewater gave about 1,000 injections.
Campuses are filled with 18- to 24-year-olds, an age group the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says seems vulnerable to the virus. Julia Bonner, director of UWM's Norris Health Center, said that once school officials had vaccine doses, they tried to target students that they knew were vulnerable, such as those with asthma, and to treat students such as those who work in child care with children too young to get the vaccine.
As the semester starts, there will be more emphasis on getting more students vaccinated and on keeping the campaign fresh.
"The point is to present it in new and different ways," Bonner said.
165 College students nationwide who were hospitalized with flu-like symptoms in the fall
3 Deaths among those students
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/81052452.html