Flu Updates

Letters to Students

Nov. 18, 2009

Dear Students,

In recent weeks, staff at the Health Center have seen many more students than usual, most of them with flu-like illness.

Some of those with a range of symptoms that includes a temperature above 100 Fahrenheit have gone home to wait out their isolation, which is still typically around three days. That remains the best option for any student who can get home without using mass transportation.

We’ve had as many as 33 students at a time isolated at Elm Tree House. Today that number is down to 5 and we’re moving back to isolating students in their own rooms, where they’ll be called each day and brought food and liquids. As before, we’ll move healthy roommates temporarily to other rooms on campus and pair each isolated student with a dean, who will act as liaison with faculty.

As always, the Health Center will be closed for the Thanksgiving Break from noon on Wednesday, Nov. 25, until 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29. A following e-mail will explain how students who experience flu-like symptoms while on campus during the break can contact a physician by phone and get food and other support.

We received 100 doses of H1N1 vaccine, which appears to be the typical amount, and administered it to students who’d reported to us that they have underlying conditions that put them at greater risk. We’ve applied for more of this vaccine and don’t know yet when it’ll be delivered.

People ask whether our incidence of this flu is at peak or at pre- or post-peak. Public health officials say it’s impossible to know. For the time being, therefore, we all have to keep practicing good hygiene, isolate ourselves for 24 hours after having a temperature above 100, and support each other through what remains a medically trying time.

Regards,
Ruth Harrison
Director of Health Services

Oct. 27, 2009

Dear Students,

As has been widely reported, the production of H1N1 vaccine is well behind the original schedule. See www.tiny.cc/gRsMZ.

Federal and state health officials now say that we’re unlikely to get a significant amount of this vaccine until at least the middle of November. Taking it at that time still seems worthwhile since the H1N1 virus remains fairly new and unpredictable, but we’ll inform you when we know more about the timing and efficacy.

We continue to have on campus a consistently small number of identified cases of influenza-like illness. Our experience with other flu strains suggests that we can expect significantly more cases to come.

To help yourself and the campus stay healthy, therefore, it’s important that you continue to wash your hands frequently, follow cough and sneeze etiquette, and isolate yourself when you have flu symptoms: congestion, temperature, and coughs or sneezes.

The Health Center and Dean’s Office can help you weather that isolation, which for our students has so far been usually three or four days.

Regards,
Ruth Harrison
Director of Health Services

Sept. 9, 2009

As this academic year begins, flu is just about everywhere, including no doubt here.

We can most help ourselves and our community by at all times exhibiting and reinforcing in each other the basics of Flu Prevention 101:

• Cover coughs and sneezes.
• Wash hands.
• Remove yourself when sick.
• Disposable tissues are best for covering coughs and sneezes; next best is your upper arm.

Want to know what’s a really bad idea at a time like this? Sharing a drinking cup or a water bottle. You can probably think of other examples.

You can’t really wash your hands too often and hand sanitizer is a plus.

The hardest part for students may be isolating yourselves when you have flu symptoms: cough, runny nose or sore throat, and temperature above 100 F. For the community’s sake, however, you have to, have to, have to. And you have to encourage others with symptoms to do the same.

Fortunately, experience elsewhere suggests that the isolation time is short. It ends when you’ve gone 24 hours without fever and fever-reducing medication — typically in two to five days.

If you can get home without using public transport, that’s the best option.

If you can’t, we’ll work with you to determine the best option. For some, that may mean staying in your room, for others, it’ll mean moving you to a building set aside for this purpose. If you’re isolated, we’ll get meals to you and link you with a dean to help navigate any complications with course work.

It’s important to come to the Health Center when you show symptoms. Our hours are 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. If the number of students with flu symptoms becomes large enough, the first step will become a telephone triage system.

Progress is being made on developing an H1N1 vaccine. When it’s available, probably next month, we expect to provide it to students here for free. It’s also highly recommended that everyone get the seasonal flu vaccine. A Clinic on campus for seasonal flu vaccine will take place Oct. 7th. Details will be in the DA, Daily Messages, and flyers.

Public Health officials estimate more than one million cases of H1N1 in this country since spring. It’s spreading quickly, especially on campuses, and every community should act on the very high probability of it being present.

While H1N1 doesn’t yet have a high death rate, it’s greater than zero, and any flu is best avoided.

You can keep informed about the disease and its progress through the college’s flu Web site www.williams.edu/admin/health/flu.

In short, the virus spreads from person to person by droplets. It doesn’t aerosolize and float through a room but droplets can remain active on non-porous surfaces for up to eight hours.

Once you’ve had H1N1, you’re probably done with it. Re-infection is probably rare.

Our friends at Facilities plan to make an extra effort to regularly disinfect public door handles and bathrooms. This can only happen in your bathroom, though, if the ledges are free of clutter.

As the situation with H1N1 develops, the college’s response may need to evolve. We’ll keep you informed. Until then, please help make this a community in which the basic steps mentioned above are natural ways of how we care for ourselves and each other.

Best,
Ruth Harrison
Director of Health Services