Precautions against H1N1
Through friends, family, teachers, health professionals and religious leaders, most people on campus has been urged to take steps to insure their personal health and reduce the spread of the H1N1 flu. One case of the flu has been confirmed on campus said Brad King, vice president of institutional advancement, but even with all this information, are students and faculty taking the necessary precautions?
H1N1 is a concern for many colleges because schools like Washington State University canceled classes due to 2,500 suspected cases of the H1N1 flu strain.
This archived article was written by: Erin Page
Through friends, family, teachers, health professionals and religious leaders, most people on campus has been urged to take steps to insure their personal health and reduce the spread of the H1N1 flu. One case of the flu has been confirmed on campus said Brad King, vice president of institutional advancement, but even with all this information, are students and faculty taking the necessary precautions?
H1N1 is a concern for many colleges because schools like Washington State University canceled classes due to 2,500 suspected cases of the H1N1 flu strain.
The virus is spread from person to person in the same way a normal flu bug is passed. Mainly from coughing, sneezing around people with influenza, or coming in contact with something already carrying the flu bug.
Students have been counseled to sanitize common surfaces, frequently wash hands and stay home if they experience any flu-like symptoms. Even with this counsel, the majority of students are continuing their normal routine of hygiene, while still others are buying Clorox in bulk to disinfect their worlds. There’s nothing wrong with being concerned about health, I’m getting vaccinated and I never get sick were comments made by students.
Professor Carrie Icard brings disinfecting towelette to her English classes so she and her students can wipe off their desks. Computer labs offer disinfectant wipes for students to use to clean their keyboards.
Students however are more lax with their concern, many of them having a “it will never happen to me” attitude. Other students attest to cleaning their entire apartment and even wanting to douse some of their hygiene-lacking roommates with some antibiotics just as a precaution.
The vaccine for H1N1 will be available during the fall according to the Center for Disease Control, but aren’t giving specific dates because of continuing clinical trials.
