Everything you need to know about swine flu
April 28, 2009 at 5:44 PM 1 comment
UPDATE:
Student Health Services on campus will be offering a free walk-in clinic from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3. SHS is in Building 46 near Parking Lot J. Call them at (909) 869-4000.
If you are feeling flu-like symptoms (high fever, cough, stuffy or runny nose, soreness, etc.), you are encouraged to take advantage and get checked out. You’re paying for health services as part of your tuition anyway! So take advantage if you’re concerned.
It’s debatable whether this outbreak stuff is worthy of all the attention it’s been receiving. We’re in crisis mode, yet at the end of the day it’s still just flu. Just as likely to die from swin flu as the regular flu, according to most sources.
What do you think about the hullabaloo?
There are no reported outbreaks at Cal Poly Pomona, and the pigs on campus are healthy. The university is updating swine flu information HERE.
The swine unit has no risk of the disease because the herd is bred through artificial insemination. This season’s flu vaccination is not expected to protect against swine flu, but Student Health Services does have a limited number of annual flu vaccine shots available.
Although there are no known cases of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) at Cal Poly Pomona, the university is providing additional services this weekend for students due to the H1N1 flu.
Students with flu-like symptoms can go to Cal Poly Pomona’s Student Health Services for a no-cost, walk-in flu clinic
Students exhibiting any of the following symptoms are encouraged to visit the flu clinic: high fever (temperature over 100°F), dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, extreme tiredness, stomach symptoms (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea). Student Health Services is located in Building 46 near Parking Lot J. For more information, please contact (909) 869-4000.
In addition, the university is providing additional custodial services for common areas and restrooms in residence halls each day.
There are no known cases of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) at Cal Poly Pomona, including its residence halls and auxiliary areas. The university has developed a H1N1 Flu Information web site that has been updated regularly.
Students at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Claremont, CA wear masks to protect against swine flu.
Local schools in the Pomona area are sending e-mails to students, parents and staff with what to do to prevent the spread of swine flu. There have been no confirmed cases in San Bernardino, Los Angeles or Riverside counties. However, a student at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Claremont felt ill with flu-like symptoms after traveling back from Mexico. The school closed down on Tuesday.
Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by Influenza A that regularly causes outbreaks in pigs. However, “human infections with swine flue do occur.” Most often people handling pigs catch it, but it can go from human to human via germs from sneezing and touching, similar to a cold.
Symptoms are mostly consistent with regular flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, sore throat, cough, poor appetite, body aches and chills. Sometimes there is nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. The World Health Organization says the overall mortality rate is 1% to 4%. No deaths have been reported in the United States, but swine flue can be serious. A previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman from Wisconsin was died in 1988 after being hospitalized for pneumonia and infected with swine flue. A 1976 Fort Dix, New Jersey outbreak caused more than 200 cases of serious illness and one death.
Tips to avoid the swine flu are common sense health advice: wash your hands, cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.
Emergency signs in adults are difficulty breathing, pain in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, severe vomiting. Urgent warning signs in children include fast breathing, bluish skin color, not waking up or interacting, irritable, fever with a rash, and other flu-like symptoms. People with the swine flu virus infection are potentially contagious if they are symptomatic for up to seven days.
As of 11 a.m. this morning, there have been 64 laboratory confirmed cases of swine flue infection in the U.S.: 10 in California, 45 in New York City, 6 in Texas, 2 in Kansas, 1 in Ohio. See more.
Governor Schwarzenegger and President Obama announced a state of emergency today due to the flu outbreak. Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a nationwide public health emergency declaration.
WHO declared a Phase 4 pandemic alert due to the consistent human-to-human interaction of the outbreak.
“Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.”
Mexico has reported 149 deaths from swine flu, according to The Daily Bulletin, and travel there is being discouraged. Mexico City schools have been closed and health centers have been swamped.
A vaccine is being worked on, but flu is not as easy to create immunity for as conditions like chicken pox. The flu virus is constantly changing and mutating. However, the Center for Disease Control has created a seed stock of vaccine against swine flu if the number of cases jumps significantly.
Travel has not been restricted, but an outbreak notice has been issued to warn people traveling to Mexico, California, or Texas.
Entry filed under: cal poly pomona, swine flu. Tags: alert, cal poly pomona, california, campus, cdc, center for disease control, daily bulletin, disease, emergency, human, mexico, outbreak, pandemic, pigs, schools, swine flue, swine unit, united states, who, world health organization.
1. Swine flu still in swing « STAMPEDE | May 2, 2009 at 6:41 PM
[...] Student Health Services has a clinic Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on campus. Check the previous post for way too much information on the swine influenza [...]