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Of Maine’s colleges and universities, Bowdoin has been hit the worst by swine flu.
Bowdoin has identified 167 students with flu-like symptoms since the start of school as of Sept. 28, according to Scott Hood, Bowdoin’s vice president for communication and public affairs. Maine’s Department of Health verified eight cases of swine flue on Bowdoin’s campus on Sept. 8, and the department suspended testing once it had confirmed H1N1 was present on the campus.
The University of Maine has identified 15 people with flu-like illness since the beginning of the school year, said Director of University Relations Joe Carr. None of the cases have been confirmed as H1N1. Carr said the number includes seven students who live on campus, six employees who work on campus, one student who lives off campus and one employee at a remote location. Carr said most have recovered and returned to school or work.
Bowdoin has attempted to contain the spread of swine flu by encouraging students to go home if they get sick, placing students in single dorm rooms and containing sick students in a single dormitory. Hood said 13 students are currently recovering at home, nine students have been placed in singles and three students are in an isolated area of a residence hall. Students must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to class without using any medicines to reduce fever.
Bowdoin does not send students home; those who have left school lived relatively close to campus and did so voluntarily.
Hood said students generally recover in “two to three days. They come in, they’re sick for a couple days and then they’re OK and they’re back. So they’re not staying in isolation very long.”
Bowdoin students in isolation are brought meals by food services and visited by health services to keep them from leaving their rooms.
Vaccinations against the seasonal flu are currently available on campus, Carr said, and the university will set up a vaccination clinic for swine flu. Vaccinations against swine flu will tentatively be given Nov. 9 and 10, though Carr cautioned those dates may changes. UMaine does not yet know how many doses of vaccine it will receive. Wayne Maines, director of safety and environmental management, expects the university will receive about 600 doses.
Colby has had about two dozen students with flu-like symptoms, according to David Eaton, Colby’s director of communications. None of the cases have been confirmed as swine flu, and Colby has not quarantined students or sent them home, Eaton said.
The University of Southern Maine has had two or three cases of flu-like illness on campus, according to spokesperson Bob Caswell.
The Maine Center for Disease Control has identified 388 cases of swine flu in the state as of Sept. 24, which has resulted in 19 hospitalizations and one death.
Related Posts:- UMaine students offer opinions on swine flu prevention measures (September 28, 2009)
- UMaine prepares for swine flu (September 21, 2009)
- UMaine says swine flu can be ‘serious disruption’ for students (October 29, 2009)
- UMaine reports 5 probable H1N1 cases (September 16, 2009)
- UMaine student diagnosed with H1N1 (June 11, 2009)
H1N1 is not any more deadly than seasonal influenza so far but it attacks a younger age group than seasonal flu does and because virtually the entire population lacks immunity, it can infect far more people at once than seasonal flu usually does.Take proper measures to avoid this.
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That’s not entirely true. Just take a look at how quickly healthy kids are falling in Texas where flu activity is already rated “intense” for this 2nd wave. We’re not even in “flu season” yet.
Also, take a look at the article above…they are NOT testing these people anymore so the number of H1N1 cases are not being tallied accurately. It gives you a false sense of security to see only 388 cases. There’s a whole lot more than that!
Several other points you can confirm yourself by going to the CDC website.
1)The rapid flu test that is often given to ease everyones mind, has a significant FALSE NEGATIVE rate for H1N1…but you feel a sense of relief when you get the “negative” result, don’t you?
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5837a1.htm
The specific H1N1 flu test is pretty much not being administered anymore unless you are hospitalized or dead.
2)There is NO FEVER present in up to 40% of H1N1 cases.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/technicalreport.htm#screen
3)It is possible to shed the virus for up to 10 days…so 24hrs post fever isn’t reassuring.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/technicalreport.htm
Do your research people. Don’t just believe the media releases. The CDC and HHS are trying hard to keep everyone from panicking so they lie by omission…probably worried more about the economy than lives.
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