Swine flu reaches Rice, infects over 120 students
Seth Brown
Issue date: 9/11/09 Section: News
"Our first priority is to minimize the impact of any flu, and we are making every effort to obtain the vaccines," Forman said. "The best case is that not much genetic drift will have occurred so that those who are infected now will not get sick again, should the H1N1 virus return later this fall."
The vaccine for the seasonal flu, which was originally expected to be available yesterday, will not be available for several weeks due to widespread delays.
Jones College sophomore Steven Boswell said he was upset by the delays.
"I think the administration has generally done a good job responding to the outbreaks, but I wish there were normal flu vaccinations," Boswell said.
Although Jenkins said he could not accurately project when the vaccination would be ready, he said the vaccine will likely arrive within the next few weeks, and noted that the campus is keeping a close watch on the spread of the seasonal flu.
However, contracting H1N1 will not grant immunity to the seasonal flu. For those students who feel an immediate need to obtain the seasonal flu vaccine, Jenkins said it is available at several local pharmacies.
The H1N1 vaccine, now in its final testing stages, is estimated to become available next month, possibly in two phases, Jenkins said. The CDC has stated on its Web site that those under 25 are a priority in their combating the virus, as H1N1 primarily infects this younger subset of the population. Jenkins said older people may have a greater resistance due to surviving previous pandemics.
"People under 25 are unlikely to have any inherent resistance," Jenkins said. "Those at greater risk are anyone with a chronic condition that may impair response."
He cited the CDC Web site as a good resource both for those already infected and those still healthy.
"Most people will recover without the need for treatment, but those with chronic conditions should have a conversation with their treating doctor," Jenkins said.
The CDC currently does not recommend treatment for those not at considerable risk, as this generally only reduces symptom duration and has side effects of its own.
"H1N1 behaves pretty much like the standard flu," Jenkins added. "Assume shared surfaces are infected, and, should you become critically ill, seek immediate medical attention."
The vaccine for the seasonal flu, which was originally expected to be available yesterday, will not be available for several weeks due to widespread delays.
Jones College sophomore Steven Boswell said he was upset by the delays.
"I think the administration has generally done a good job responding to the outbreaks, but I wish there were normal flu vaccinations," Boswell said.
Although Jenkins said he could not accurately project when the vaccination would be ready, he said the vaccine will likely arrive within the next few weeks, and noted that the campus is keeping a close watch on the spread of the seasonal flu.
However, contracting H1N1 will not grant immunity to the seasonal flu. For those students who feel an immediate need to obtain the seasonal flu vaccine, Jenkins said it is available at several local pharmacies.
The H1N1 vaccine, now in its final testing stages, is estimated to become available next month, possibly in two phases, Jenkins said. The CDC has stated on its Web site that those under 25 are a priority in their combating the virus, as H1N1 primarily infects this younger subset of the population. Jenkins said older people may have a greater resistance due to surviving previous pandemics.
"People under 25 are unlikely to have any inherent resistance," Jenkins said. "Those at greater risk are anyone with a chronic condition that may impair response."
He cited the CDC Web site as a good resource both for those already infected and those still healthy.
"Most people will recover without the need for treatment, but those with chronic conditions should have a conversation with their treating doctor," Jenkins said.
The CDC currently does not recommend treatment for those not at considerable risk, as this generally only reduces symptom duration and has side effects of its own.
"H1N1 behaves pretty much like the standard flu," Jenkins added. "Assume shared surfaces are infected, and, should you become critically ill, seek immediate medical attention."
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Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 9
PaulbTucker
Paul
posted 9/10/09 @ 7:20 PM CST
Um, I think y'all forgot to explain where your header comes from...20% of Rice would be over 1,000 people, 600 of them undergrad. Mind addressing that one, Casey?
Porky "teh" Swine
posted 9/10/09 @ 8:50 PM CST
Why, Paul, would you address this comment to Casey? Certainly the first responsible party would be the story writer, then the copy editors, then the section editors, then Casey. (Continued…)
Anzel
posted 9/11/09 @ 1:00 AM CST
If you say 2% instead of 20%, then it works.
Timberly
posted 9/11/09 @ 3:06 AM CST
Yeah, I wanna know the same thing as Paul. 20 percent is huge. That's several colleges' worth of students getting infected.
Joshua Ginsberg
posted 9/16/09 @ 10:58 AM CST
"Swine flu has officially hit Rice."
"Although students have not been tested to determine the strain..."
How is that official if there isn't a confirmed case of H1N1?
Shaunak
posted 9/17/09 @ 5:18 PM CST
This is quite alarming and I have been ignoring the situation for long.
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