University isn't canceling events, just asking students to 'self-isolate'
By Melanie Asmar, asmar@coloradodaily.com
Posted: 08/27/2009 11:38:22 AM MDT
The number of probable swine flu cases identified at the University of Colorado has grown from eight last week to an estimated 40 to 50, campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard said Thursday.
The sick students have not been tested for H1N1 virus, or swine flu, Hilliard said. They were tested only for Influenza A. While H1N1 is a strain of Influenza A, only state officials can test for it, he said, and the state only tests patients who are hospitalized.
Hilliard said he is not aware of any CU students who have been hospitalized.
CU is not canceling any classes or instituting any quarantines. Instead, it is asking sick students to stay in their dorm rooms or apartments and away from classes, and to take other safety precautions, such as covering their noses and mouths when they sneeze and washing their hands frequently.
The university plans to tally the number of H1N1 cases once a week and make that number available to students, parents and the news media, Hilliard said.
The campus' next formal count will be announced Friday afternoon, officials said.
A memo sent to CU faculty last week said state health officials predict 25 percent of the population will contract swine flu, which could lead to 40 percent absenteeism. It recommends that professors be flexible with their absence policies and post lecture notes online for students who miss class.
"This is something every university across the country is dealing with right now," Hilliard said. "It's basically everywhere."
That may be true, but students lounging on the Norlin Quad Thursday didn't seem too worried about the possibility of catching H1N1.
"I thought about it before I came back to school, but what can you do?" said Stephanie Jacques, a sophomore psychology major. "It seems like (the university) has it under control."
Junior Chris Fitz has already had swine flu. He came down with it last April, right after returning from a spring break trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Fitz, an architecture major, said he had a sore throat, fever and was vomiting for a week and a half, which caused him to miss class.
"I was miserable," he said. "I hope I don't get it again."
Still, Fitz isn't taking any special precautions. Neither are his friends, juniors Zack Owens and Kayla Harmon. Lying on the quad, using his backpack as a pillow, Owens seemed unconcerned.
"If I get it, I get it," he said.
Source: http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_13215007?source=most_emailed Harmon chimed in. "Ugh. I hate being sick," she said.
"Would you rather walk around with a stupid mask?" Owens asked.
Hilliard said CU expects to receive its first doses of an H1N1 vaccine in mid-October. He emphasized that H1N1 is "very treatable," and said the college is most concerned about potential high-risk patients, including pregnant women, people with asthma or people who are immunosuppressed.
The first handful of swine-flu cases at CU were diagnosed during spring-semester finals in May, leading the university to cancel its traditional Midnight Breakfast -- but not commencement. According to the latest statistics from the state Department of Public Health and Environment, there have been 62 official cases of H1N1 in Colorado over the past four months.
