Community braces for swine, seasonal flu strains

With the flu season nearing, UCLA is trying to prepare for the unexpected.

As different areas of campus take several precautions for a possible outbreak of H1N1, or swine flu, the severity of the upcoming flu season is unclear.

“We’re not sure what to expect. We certainly are expecting cases of influenza. We’re not sure if we’re going see anything more (severe) than what we would normally see during seasonal influenza, but every year, there are cases of influenza here on campus,” said James Gibson, who holds a doctorate in environmental and occupational health.

Gibson is the director of the UCLA Office of Environment, Health and Safety, who is part of the Pandemic Influenza Working Group to develop a response plan for campus.

H1N1 currently raises concerns because it appears to be more infectious than some strains of seasonal influenza ““ most likely because people have not yet had a chance to develop immunity to this new virus, Gibson said. Like all flu viruses, H1N1 is unpredictable, making it difficult to know how it will evolve.

Still, this particular virus so far seems to be relatively mild and resembles the health effects of seasonal influenza, Gibson added.

The university’s plans to address the flu season include education and outreach to train individuals on how to prevent the spread of illness, Gibson said. Over a thousand signs have already been installed in restrooms throughout campus to reiterate the proper handwashing technique.

Gibson added that the most effective way to prevent the spread of influenza is by educating people on proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and encouraging everyone to get vaccinated for the seasonal flu and H1N1 when advised by public health officials.

Ashe Center

Though the flu is year-round, the flu season generally extends from November to January and ends sometime in March or April, said Christina Lewis, director of nursing services at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.

The Ashe Center will continue to have the regular flu, or seasonal flu, vaccine, which Lewis said does not protect individuals against H1N1. While the center has already registered an order for the H1N1 vaccine, there is still no set date of when the vaccine will arrive. She added that there are daily updates on the research and testing for the H1N1 vaccine, which was recently found to be effective in a single dose.

Evi Desser, nurse practitioner at the Ashe Center, said pregnant women and people with preexisting medical conditions or chronic medical conditions, even those with asthma, are highly recommended for getting vaccinated against the flu.

Individuals interested in receiving the shots can attend the Ashe Center’s annual flu shot fairs, which begin mid-October this year, Lewis added.

Students can begin making appointments in the Ashe Center’s immunization clinic beginning September 21 to receive the seasonal flu vaccine, Desser said.

Thursday flu clinic days, when the majority of appointments at the Ashe Center are open for flu shots, are currently scheduled to last until Thanksgiving, Desser added.

Flu kits, which include a mask, disposable thermometers and hand sanitizer, among other items, will be available at the Ashe Center for students who show flu symptoms, according to Lewis.

She also noted that information is available at the Ashe Center Web site, including a fact sheet about H1N1 and instructions about respiratory hygiene.

Echoing Gibson’s comments, Desser said that it is too early to have definite expectations about the flu season.

“That’s the part we really can’t predict until we see how the season progresses. What we encountered last spring tended to be milder flu than the usual seasonal flu, but we don’t know what’s going to come in the fall and whether the virus will show up more virulent or whether it will again be a mild season,” Desser said.

UCLA Housing

Based on information gathered from other school campuses and from Gibson and Jo Ann Dawson, executive director of Ashe Center, UCLA Housing is anticipating a larger than normal outbreak of flu on the Hill this year, said Peter Angelis, assistant vice chancellor of UCLA housing and hospitality services.

Housing anticipates seasonal flu to return as well as a significant number of H1N1 cases, he added.

For the start of this fall, the Hill is specifically focusing its attention on illness prevention. Frequent communication to students through signage, e-mail, and other mediums are aimed to remind students of the methods in which flu is transmitted, Angelis said.

Students with the flu are asked to self-isolate, or recover from their flu at home or in their rooms, and not expose others to the virus, he added. According to the Environment, Health and Safety department, individuals who feel flu symptoms should self-isolate until 24 hours after their fevers break.

All residential halls will have Food-and-Drug-Administration-approved hand sanitizers available at all the front desks, lobby elevator landings, and community restrooms to mitigate the spread of flu.

Additionally, ill students will have access to special to-go flu meals that a roommate can retrieve from the dining commons.

Buildings on the Hill will also undergo more frequent cleanings, Angelis added.

“I’d definitely say we have a large concern because of the large number of students we have on the Hill. Any kind of flu outbreak is not fun to go through, and we suspect it will be worse than normal this year with two different flu strains floating around,” Angelis said.

Angelis emphasized the importance of students not going out in the general population if they feel ill.

“We really want to have a community here on the Hill (where) we care about each other and do anything possible not to spread a flu virus to our colleagues,” he said.

Greek Housing

The Panhellenic community, also preparing for students’ wellbeing, encourages all students, not just Greek students, to follow the directions given on the Ashe Center Web site, said Troy Bartels, Greek adviser in the UCLA Center for Student Programming.

Some student groups, such as the sororities Alpha Delta Pi, Tri Delta, and Alpha Chi Omega, have distributed educational memos to sorority members about the flu season, said Karina Shaver, president of Affinity PR who formally represents Tri Delta and Alpha Delta Pi.

“We want our chapters to be prepared if and when there is a breakout, and of course to be educated on how to properly deal with the flu season overall,” said Stacy Gillard, director of public relations for Tri Delta.

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