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Flu & H1N1
Responding to the flu: It takes a village
(Updated: January 2011)
Last year, nearly 300 Sewanee students had flu-like symptoms. Some students went home to be with families to recover, while others remain on campus in their residence hall or in one of a few University facilities being used to isolate students with acute symptoms.
To date, no Sewanee students' virus has been officially diagnosed as H1N1, as the common protocol requires all out of season flu-like cases to be treated as H1N1. Of the total number of students that have suffered from the virus, very few have needed hospitalization.
Even a year later, we remain in communication with the Tennessee state health department's infectious disease personnel and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to seek advice on effective treatments and to offer upates on intervention strategies. We are also participating in the American College Health Associations strategy to monitor the spread of this virus among college student populations and are communicating with other peer institutions to share and to learn best intervention practices.
We are continuing to take the following precautions to care for sick students and to prevent the further spread of the virus.
Caring for the Sick
1) Each student's situation is evaluated giving consideration to severity and ease of having parents receive and care for their children at their permanent homes.
2) Best efforts are made to isolate sick students on campus.
3) Sewanee's dining service can provide appropriate meals to sick students. Friends and dorm staff can pick up clear fluids for drinking, soups and other essentials.
4) Masks, disinfectent, gloves and hand-washing are regular precautions being taken by those individuals caring for the sick.
5) Each individual is asked to remain in isolation until they are fever free for 24 hours without the assistance of fever reduction medication.
6) By way of the dean of students office, faculty are instructed to excuse students from the class assignments and class attendance, and to insist that a student return to isolation if they return to class prior to being symptom free for 24 hours (as stated above.)
7) Additional medical personnel can being added to the existing staff to treat students if the demand increases.
8) Some required public events might be rescheduled for a later date.
(This is not a comprehensive list of measures, merely an example of the attention being given.)
Caring for the Healthy
1) We are making serious effort to educate each diagonsed student of their responsibility to their community.
2) We are asking everyone in our community to be mindful of our community's health by washing their hands and by being alert to possible symptoms they are experiencing and also being atuned to the possible symptoms of others.
3) We are taking necessary precautions to keep the sick out of common areas (dining and living areas) and once areas are suspected of infection, we are taking appropriate action to disinfect those areas.
4) While custodial staff are already well-equipped and trained at maintaining healthy environments, they are also receiving specific direction from local hospital personnel responsible for infectious disease control.
5) In public areas alcohol-based sanitizer is prominently displayed along with signs encouraging their frequent use.
6) The local elementary school has been notified of our cases with the aim of reducing the likelihood that any student volunteers might unknowingly infect the elementary school's population.
During these types of challenges, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to have 150 residence life student and professional staff available to serve as resources in educating others and in responding to individual's needs. We are also blessed to have community partnerships with the professionals at Emerald Hodgson Hospital and the medical staff at Sewanee Family Practice that are assisting the University when we need additional support. Most importantly, Sewanee's front line physical plant crew continue to respond without hesitation and do so with grace and care. It is gratifying to work in a community that pulls together at challenging moments.
H1N1 INFLUENZA BASIC INFORMATION
Transmission
Seasonal human influenza viruses are thought to spread from person to person primarily through large-particle respiratory droplet transmission (e.g., when an infected person coughs or sneezes near a susceptible person). Transmission via large-particle droplets requires close contact between source and recipient persons because droplets do not remain suspended in the air and generally travel only a short distance (less than six feet). Contact with contaminated surfaces is another possible source of transmission, as is transmission via droplet nuclei (also called “airborne” transmission). All respiratory secretions and bodily fluids (diarrheal stool) of novel influenza A (H1N1) cases should be considered potentially infectious.
Incubation Period
The estimated incubation period is unknown and could range from one to seven days, and more likely one to four days.
The Centers for Disease Control recommend that people with influenza-like illness remain isolated until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100 degrees F or above), or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.
If the flu conditions become MORE severe, the isolation period will be extended to at least 7 days and 24 hours symptom free, whichever is longer. The severity of the outbreak will be determined by the Health Service staff based on the number of documented cases of influenza that are seen in the Health Service.
Clinical Findings
Fever, chills, headache, upper respiratory tract symptoms (cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, shortness of breath), myalgias, arthragias, fatigue, vomiting, or diarrhea. Most common presentation is fever with cough and/or sore throat.
High Risk for Complications in the University community
Adults and children with chronic pulmonary (asthma), cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
Mitigation
Early recognition of illness and rapid isolation is critical in reducing the spread of the illness.
Anyone with a medical condition that would place them in a high-risk category should not be designated as caregivers for ill persons.
Close contacts of persons with Influenza-Like Illnesses (ILIs) should be encouraged to self-monitor for ILI symptoms.
Linens, eating utensils, and dishes used by those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately but should not be shared. Linens should be washed in hot water with laundry soap and dried on a hot setting. Caregivers should wash hands immediately after handling laundry or utensils.
Other Resources
What is H1N1
Taking Care of a Sick Friend
Using a Mask (masks are available in health services and at residence halls)
Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres in unum.