Each day brings cases of the H1N1 virus to more states, and schools in some areas of the country are shutting down as a result.
As of Thursday, several hundred schools had been closed, including 200 in Texas, as precautionary measures to halt the spread of H1N1.
Though the virus has been blamed for numerous deaths in Mexico and one in the United States, most cases in this country appear to be relatively mild.
Officials at Emporia State University say they have a plan in place to deal with an outbreak should one occur on campus.
“We have a pandemic response plan for a public health emergency and we have put it into effect,” said Marjorie Werly, ESU’s director of public relations.
For now, the plan consists of monitoring by Jaqueline Schmidt, director of the Student Health Center.
“(Schmidt) is in contact with the Flint Hills Community Health Center, and they survey the area to see what’s going on,” Werly said. “We have had no cases of H1N1 influenza reported to our Student Health Center.”
The plan has been in the works for three years. In addition to monitoring for signs of the flu, university officials are putting information about the virus on the school’s Web site and are sending out an e-mail to students to inform them of general information about the importance of hand-washing and keeping in good health. The e-mail also tells them to contact the Student Health Center if they experience any flu-like symptoms.
“The health center has plenty of testing supplies on hand and they will do a rapid flu test for Type A or Type B influenza and be able to tell right then if they have either one of those or not,” Werly said.
Werly said a communication system is in the planning process, in addition to the campus-wide RAVE system, which lets school officials send e-mails and texts to university students.
“We’re collecting information from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and we’ll have a place where students can go and get all they need,” Werly said.
In the event of an outbreak on campus, Werly said the university would be involved in the community health plan put together by local public health officials and involving Emporia and the surrounding area. Sick students on campus would be isolated from the rest of the student population to limit the spread of the virus.
“We don’t use the word ‘quarantine,’ but yes, we would cordon off an area where we could keep those that are ill all in one place,” Werly said.
One ESU student recently experienced first-hand the fallout from the flu outbreak in Mexico.
Ashley Long, a biology student, was in Monterrey last week to give a presentation. While there, she wasn’t aware of the drama unfolding around her.
“Ever since we’d been in Mexico we didn’t have any access to the news or anything,” Long said, “so we didn’t really know what was going on. It was very surreal. We went into the airport and everyone was wearing masks.”
Then she learned about the schools and public places being shut down. While at the airport, Long said she heard talk about canceling flights.
“We didn’t know if they were going to let the flight go, but everything ended up fine,” she said.
Long, who got home Sunday, said she has since been teased by colleagues.
“People have been asking if they should be testing me,” she said. “But I don’t have any symptoms or anything.”
Werly said while the virus is cause for concern, there is no reason for people to overreact.
“Our students, our faculty and our staff are our top priority, and we are on top of this,” Werly said. “We are continually monitoring to see what’s going on and we are continuing to move ahead with the portions of our plan that are appropriate so that it will not catch us off guard.”
dhcc66 (anonymous) says...
ok, tell me something. how many people DIE each year from the regular flu in the US alone??? something around 35,000 right?? now, we have what, 191 people total in the US that are infected and one death from a person who was visiting from Mexico, and we are screaming "THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!".....
omg, please, somebody stop the feeding frenzy the media is on and let the truth come forward. i thought there was supposed to be truth in reporting so that we don't cause a panic
May 1, 2009 at 2:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
You obviously haven't been listening to the tons of explanations from the CDC or the WHO as to why this particular strain is more of a concern than any other. I've shared the explanation on another thread, but you may not believe me. Why not go to the CDC web site for a more complete explanation.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
May 1, 2009 at 7:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )