Friday, September 04, 2009
RU student diagnosed with swine flu
A Radford University student has been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu strain commonly referred to as “swine flu,” officials confirmed Friday.
Dennie Templeton, Radford University’s executive director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, said this is the first known swine flu case there. It was confirmed by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The student lives off campus but visited the Student Health Center. The student was treated and released and was reported to be recovering.
At Virginia Tech, three students have been seen at the on-campus Schiffert Health Center for suspected cases of flu. More testing will be needed to determine if the cases are seasonal flu or H1N1, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that 23 University of Virginia students experienced flu-like symptoms since the start of the academic year.
A Virginia Health Department official encouraged calm Friday, saying more H1N1 cases are expected throughout the fall.
“It is in our communities and in our schools,” said Robert Parker, spokesman for the New River Health District. A confirmed case of H1N1 “does not indicate there is an elevated risk on that college campus,” he said.
Dr. Thomas Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control said this week that officials have confirmed cases of H1N1 throughout the summer.
“With colleges and schools coming back into session, we’re seeing more cases. The good news is that so far, everything that we’ve seen, both in this country and abroad, shows that the virus has not changed to become more deadly. That means that although it may affect lots of people, most people will not be severely ill,” Frieden said.
Still, some people will develop more severe symptoms and officials are monitoring flu infection patterns to identify any outbreaks or increase in severity of cases, Parker said.
New River Valley college and university administrators said Friday they are busy preparing both preventative education campaigns and plans to deal with outbreaks.
Over the past year, Radford University has devised a detailed response plan for any outbreaks. If many students or faculty are affected, the university has plans to use various online instruction methods to keep classes on schedule, RU spokesman Jeff Douglas said.
Bill King of the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg said that college has similar contingency plans in place.
Tech officials are working on education campaigns to guide students and faculty in preventing outbreaks. On-campus flu shot clinics are planned beginning in October, Owczarski said.
Seasonal flu vaccines are being made available across Virginia earlier than in years past, Parker said.
Officials hope to vaccinate a broad swath of the population for seasonal flu now, and then get them back in for the H1N1 vaccine expected to be released later, Parker said.
For more information, call the Virginia Department of Health’s flu hotline at 877-ASK-VDH3. Phone lines are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Dennie Templeton, Radford University’s executive director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, said this is the first known swine flu case there. It was confirmed by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The student lives off campus but visited the Student Health Center. The student was treated and released and was reported to be recovering.
At Virginia Tech, three students have been seen at the on-campus Schiffert Health Center for suspected cases of flu. More testing will be needed to determine if the cases are seasonal flu or H1N1, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that 23 University of Virginia students experienced flu-like symptoms since the start of the academic year.
A Virginia Health Department official encouraged calm Friday, saying more H1N1 cases are expected throughout the fall.
“It is in our communities and in our schools,” said Robert Parker, spokesman for the New River Health District. A confirmed case of H1N1 “does not indicate there is an elevated risk on that college campus,” he said.
Dr. Thomas Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control said this week that officials have confirmed cases of H1N1 throughout the summer.
“With colleges and schools coming back into session, we’re seeing more cases. The good news is that so far, everything that we’ve seen, both in this country and abroad, shows that the virus has not changed to become more deadly. That means that although it may affect lots of people, most people will not be severely ill,” Frieden said.
Still, some people will develop more severe symptoms and officials are monitoring flu infection patterns to identify any outbreaks or increase in severity of cases, Parker said.
New River Valley college and university administrators said Friday they are busy preparing both preventative education campaigns and plans to deal with outbreaks.
Over the past year, Radford University has devised a detailed response plan for any outbreaks. If many students or faculty are affected, the university has plans to use various online instruction methods to keep classes on schedule, RU spokesman Jeff Douglas said.
Bill King of the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg said that college has similar contingency plans in place.
Tech officials are working on education campaigns to guide students and faculty in preventing outbreaks. On-campus flu shot clinics are planned beginning in October, Owczarski said.
Seasonal flu vaccines are being made available across Virginia earlier than in years past, Parker said.
Officials hope to vaccinate a broad swath of the population for seasonal flu now, and then get them back in for the H1N1 vaccine expected to be released later, Parker said.
For more information, call the Virginia Department of Health’s flu hotline at 877-ASK-VDH3. Phone lines are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
