Prevention
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Waterless hand sanitizers also work well. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use “wellness stations” throughout campus and bring their own hand sanitizer for their offices, classroom and work areas.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Then dispose of the tissue and wash your hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are ill or who have flu-like symptoms. If you get sick, keep your distance from others.
- Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth to reduce the chance of getting flu germs in your system.
- Sleep. Do not stay up all night studying. Sleep deprivation lowers your ability to fight off any virus.
- Eat breakfast and drink plenty of fluids.
- Students with any flu-like symptoms should immediately call the Bradley Health Center in the Markin Center at 677-2700. Faculty and staff should call their personal healthcare providers.
- H1N1 influenza is a respiratory illness. Symptoms of H1N1 are much the same as seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. While some people with H1N1 have also reported diarrhea and nausea, they are not typical symptoms of influenza.
- Call the doctor immediately if you have a medical condition that puts you at increased risk from the flu or you develop severe symptoms, such as high fever, chest pain, shortness of breath or rapid breathing.
Vaccination
- Plan to get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available.
- Plan to get a seasonal flu vaccine, which will not protect against H1N1, but will help keep you healthy.
When available on campus, H1N1 vaccine will be dispensed in this order per recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Pregnant students and student that have children less than 6 months of age.
- Students with chronic medical conditions affecting their immune system or respiratory function.
- Students ages 18 and under.
- Students ages 19-24.
Because people younger than 25 are at a greater risk from H1N1, faculty and staff will not be given vaccines from Health Services unless some is left after targeting these populations. Faculty and staff and those over 65 years old are not in the most vulnerable population from H1N1.
Isolation
Students who have a positive flu test will be isolated as follows:
- If a student lives off campus, he or she will be instructed to go home and not return to campus until they have been without fever for 24 hours without medication.
- If a student lives on campus and is a reasonable distance from their family home, he or she will be instructed to go home and not return to campus until they have been without fever for 24 hours without medication.
- If a student lives on campus and is not a reasonable distance from their family home, he or she will be isolated on Wendle Hall 3rd floor.
- Students restricted to their rooms or on Wendle Hall 3rd floor will be provided meals.
For additional information about this strain of flu, please see the CDC website. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Affairs, 677-3140 or Student Health Services, 677-2700.
