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University of Maine Director of University Relations Joe Carr reported Sept. 16 that five people at UMaine have reported possible symptoms of swine flu.
Two people are on-campus students who live in residence halls, one is an off-campus student, one is a staff member and one is an employee at one of UMaine’s remote locations.
“There’s no indication of any sort of a cluster of illnesses at this point,” Carr said.
Carr said none of the five have been asked to leave campus and that the university’s response to reported symptoms varies by person.
“The strategies are based on referring students and or faculty and staff members to the UMaine Web site,” Carr said. “In the case of an on-campus student … if that person is able to go somewhere else, for example to their home off-campus in a way where they won’t expose others to the virus we would encourage them to take advantage of that opportunity to recuperate elsewhere.”
The students reside in Cumberland and Balentine halls, Carr said.
Carr added that no cases of swine flu have been diagnosed on campus. The five people who have reported possible symptoms have not been tested.
“We should acknowledge the possibility that others in our community beyond these five have H1N1-like symptoms,” Carr said.
A Sept. 10 update from the Maine Centers for Disease Control said there have been 370 confirmed cases of swine flu in Maine, which have resulted in 19 hospitalizations and one death. Nationwide there have been 9,079 hospitalizations and 593 deaths due to swine flu, the report said.
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