Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
As the swine flu continues to spread nationwide, members of the University of Maine community are preparing for what is to come. Campus health officials and the Emergency Operation Center have begun to step up their efforts to keep students and staff safe.
While five people have reported symptoms on campus, all have remained unconfirmed. According to UMaine planning assumptions, H1N1 is likely to come in waves, as the fast-moving virus spreads through the estimated 11,000 high-risk students.
Wayne Maines, director of the UMaine Department of Safety and Environmental Management, spoke to students this week to emphasize both what is being done to prevent a mass outbreak and what students can do to protect themselves. Most important for prevention is the H1N1 vaccine, of which 1,500 doses should be available to students in November.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius spoke on Sept. 17 with college newspapers during a press conference about the risk the new flu poses to the college community.
“Disproportionately, the target population is young Americans under 25. So, college students are right at the front of the line in terms of being targets,” Sebelius said.
Beth Bell, associated director of science at the national center for immunization and respiratory disease at the Centers for Disease Control, said during the conference that this could be “partially because older people might have some immunity which protects them from this H1N1 virus.” As younger people have no built-in immunity to the strain, H1N1 has strayed from the norms of the seasonal flu, which usually affects those ages 65 and older. Sebelius believes this version of the virus is potentially more dangerous because it is hard to predict its reactions.
Sebelius said the vaccine — previously a two-shot process — can now be taken by college students as only one injection. Following the injection, “a very robust immune response is arrived at … and that immune response hits in about 10 days,” she said.
Prevention, Maines emphasized, is simple, as H1N1 flu spreads in the same manner as seasonal flu. All students should thoroughly wash their hands often and take advantage of hand sanitizer, which has been placed around campus, because the virus can be active on hands for six to eight hours after exposure. When sneezing or coughing, do so into either a sleeve or a tissue, and keep fingers away from the mouth, nose and eyes through which germs can spread.
Most important is for students who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to employ self-isolation: refraining from attending classes or events and leaving campus if possible. Maines said it is important to remain isolated for at least 24 hours following the break of a fever.
“It’s important for them [college students] to understand whether they are in a high risk group … people who have lung diseases including asthma, diabetes, heart disease, pregnant women … and if they are in one of these high risk groups and they do get sick, to contact their doctor right away,” Bell said.
The Emergency Operation Center has been planning since April to preserve the safety of UMaine’s students and faculty. Already in place is a plan to distribute food to students who cannot leave their dorms due to illness as well as a Web site — www.umaine.com/h1n1 — and a phone line — 581-H1N1 — from which students can learn more.
The UMaine administration encourages all members of the UMaine community to receive the seasonal flu vaccine as well.
