As the H1N1 influenza virus transforms itself from an epidemic to a pandemic, schools across the nation, including IU Southeast, are taking necessary steps to combat the problem.
In a recent e-mail to IUS students, Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles urged students to stay home if they are sick.
“It is important that you not spread the flu, so having a tutor is not advisable during your absence, but when your fever and other symptoms are gone, you can begin the process of catching up,” Patterson-Randles said in the e-mail.
Patterson-Randles urged students to get flu shots, and avoid close contact with those who have flu-like symptoms.
Although campus closings are rare, Dana Wavle, vice chancellor of Administration and Finance, said it could happen.
“The campus is fully prepared to respond to emergency situations, including health-related emergencies,” Wavle said. “A campus crisis management team is in place to review every situation on a case-by-case basis.
IU Southeast will work closely with local authorities and the IU-wide University Emergency Preparedness Committee before making any decisions about shutting campus down.”
Gil Atnip, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs, said precautions have been taken.
“We hope that the steps we have taken to combat the flu, including placing hand sanitizer around campus and publicizing health care and hygiene tips, will help prevent the spread of germs on campus,” Atnip said.
Atnip said professors were asked at the beginning of the semester to supply additional information about their courses in case they get sick.
“When a faculty member is ill, other faculty typically covers classes if the absence is of short duration,” Atnip said, “and in rare cases, when an illness is long-term, we hire a replacement for the faculty member who can no longer fulfill her or his teaching responsibilities.”
Professors have been instructed to work with students who become ill this semester.
“Because it is likely that the number of flu cases [including the H1N1 flu or seasonal flu] will increase this fall and winter, IU Southeast faculty are aware that they need to be flexible with students who have the flu,” Larry Mand, vice chancellor of Information Technology and Community Engagement, said.
Mand said professors received information at the beginning of the semester to help them develop their own plans for working with students who miss class because of illness.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 37 states, including Kentucky and Indiana, report widespread influenza activity at this time.
James Hollenbeck, associate professor of education, said he would like to see a 40 to 50 percent vaccination rate.
“When you vaccinate thousands of people, who’s around to get sick?” Hollenbeck said.
Hollenbeck, who has written about the 1918 flu pandemic, said the H1N1 virus has a genetic core of eight genes that keep re-shuffling and changing.
“It’s like a costume party. You throw it out, it changes its costume and comes back,” Hollenbeck said. “Two proteins within the virus punch holes in your cells, basically high-jacking them and making you sick.”
The World Health Organization reports, as of Oct. 4, there have been more than 375,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in 2009 and more than 4,500 deaths.
Most deaths aren’t caused from the H1N1 virus itself, but rather from secondary infections such as pneumonia. Children and pregnant mothers are the most at risk for becoming ill.
By MATTHEW CHINN
Staff Writer
mchinn@ius.edu