University seeing effects of H1N1 flu

The effects of the H1N1 virus are starting to make their way onto the University campus with at least seven reports of students and faculty staying home.
“The two students that were in Patriot Village and Orneles Hall that we were notified of one of them was at the very beginning of September,” David Hill, director of residence life and judicial affairs said. “We had another case that was reported to us roughly a week ago and that student went home to recover.”

Dr. Linda Klotz, dean of the College of Nursing and a professor, said they also have taken reports of the virus.
“We have had two students with confirmed H1N1 in nursing,” she said. “One of them before classes even started called and told us they would not be showing up and then one has gone home with it. We also have a student in health and kinesiology that chose to stay home until the symptoms went away.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends anyone with the flu stay home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8°C]), or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea.

Amy Weatherholtz, a senior journalism major, said she had all of the flu symptoms signs. “Monday November 12th, I had a doctors appointment. I thought I was tired from them drawing blood and feel yucky. I laid down and in about 30 minutes I had fever,” she said. “Tuesday morning, I woke up, throat sore, but no fever went to school/work. Left early, cause I was feeling in the slums, By Tuesday night, I was super sick!”
People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Severe illnesses and deaths have occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.

Klotz said students and faculty should make an informed decision when they start feeling the effects of the flu. “If you don’t feel well go home and mainly we do suggest you get the H1N1 flu vaccine,” she said.

“We will not be offering that again until mid November when they come in. Also, avoid crowds as much as possible and areas where there is not good air circulating.” Klotz said one of the best ways to tackle the spread of the flu is for people to wash their hands and cover their sneezes.

Weatherholtz said she was fortunate enough to have a good immune system. “Fighting this with a pretty good immune system has been hard enough. Wash your hands and be cautious, I’ve even thought about wearing a mask to prevent getting it again,” she said.

“Be smart, your in college after all. If you run a fever, your contagious. If you are sick, professors will understand and your classmates will thank you for not spreading it to them or their families.”

The CDC recommends that when people wash their hands — with soap and warm water — that they wash for 15-to-20 seconds. When soap and water are not available, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers may be used.

If using gel, rub hands until the gel is dry. The gel doesn’t need water to work; the alcohol in it kills the germs on their hands.
“We are trying to make sure the faculty is doing the same thing as the students with washing their hands and staying home if they do not feel well,” Klotz said.

Hill said students who wish to stay on campus should self-isolate themselves in their rooms and inform their roommates of their symptoms.
Weatherholtz said she followed all of the rules in dealing with the flu.

“I hid in the bedroom. I didn’t want my hubby or anyone else getting sick,” she said. “I didn’t get out of bed much the first few days. I read text books, organized study guides and tried my best to stay in touch with classmates and professors, do what I would do except attend class and work.”

The residence life website recommends students who remain on campus should stay away from others and eat meals in their dorm room because students with flu will not be permitted in the dining halls.

If a student is self-isolated, has a mealplan and has arranged for someone to bring meals to them, please notify the Residence Life Office at (903) 566-7008.

“If they did choose to stay on campus, we would make sure their roommates knew the general precautions such as washing your hands and cleaning the services that the other person may be using,” he said.

The CDC also recommends the following “emergency warning signs” that should signal adults to seek medical care urgently:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

Weatherholtz said missing class is one of the toughest things about dealing with the flu.  “It’s extremely hard, I’m lucky to have wonderful understanding professors that post to black board, and classmates to stay as caught up as I can,” she said.

“I know when I go back to class, there’s going to be more catch up. But with everyone helping. I think I will be able to manage.  It’s unfair cause I’ve felt much better the past few days but the doctor wrote my doctor’s. note for the 23rd. All my professors advised me to take the extra days to rest, and since that’s what the doctor’s note said, that’s what I had to do.”

Hill said with the seasonal flu, which runs from October through February, and the H1N1 flu happening at the same time, they are not able to predict how many more cases they expect to see.

“It is really hard to say because more people are getting the general flu vaccination as well as the H1N1 vaccination,” he said. “I think people are more aware of the things that you have to do to keep it from spreading so it is hard to say how many cases we expect to see.”

Forty-three deaths have been reported to the CDC due to the H1N1 flu and Klotz said those numbers are staggering. “The CDC is predicting that it will get worse in February,” she said. “We have had more deaths with H1N1 so far this season than we normally do in an entire season with the flu.”