Health officials urge inoculation as flu season nears
Carolina Evans
Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: News
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Dr. Chris Smith, associate professor, coordinator and family nurse practitioner in the school of nursing, said October through April is considered flu season, with the virus more prevalent toward the end of November, December and January.
"There are no known cases of seasonal flu [at UTC] at this time," Smith said. "However, [we] have 76 cases of the H1N1 virus, and they are all mild."
According to The New York Times, H1N1 was first diagnosed in the U.S. in April 2009 after being found in other countries a few weeks earlier.
The H1N1 virus was called "swine flu" in the early months of the outbreak because it had similarities to influenzas in pigs, according to the New York Times and reported a later analysis which found the virus was a mutation of several viruses.
Chancellor Roger Brown said UTC has been lucky given the reach of the virus.
"We have been fortunate that the H1N1 flu outbreak on our campus has not been as severe as we expected from early projections," he said. "Our students, faculty and staff are taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves and others."
Dr. John Delaney, vice chancellor of student development, said numerous measures have been taken to inform and educate the students on ways to avoid risk of exposure.
"We have closely followed the CDC guidelines in terms of helping any sick students take care of their medical needs and avoid passing the virus to others," Delaney said. "Reports indicate that the H1N1 virus is not going away any time soon, so it is likely that college campuses will continue to deal with this medical concern for an extended period of time.
"Once we passed through the first few weeks of the fall term, the number of cases has dropped and the reports of students presenting with H1N1 or flu symptoms has dropped," Delaney said.
