You And The H1N1 Influenza

Dominican University of California has taken measures to prepare students for the possibility of an outbreak of the H1N1 influenza, also known as the swine flu.

The Student Health Center on Friday morning, March 5, held a clinic to issue free H1N1 vaccines.  A seasonal flu vaccine also was available, free to Kaiser members and $20 for all other students, faculty and staff.

While H1N1 disease activity has decreased in recent weeks, a vaccination is still recommended given the unpredictability of the spread of the H1N1 influenza.

The Student Health Center on November 20, 2009 administered its limited doses of the H1N1 vaccine in the SHC in Bertrand Hall, Room 100, to the following groups:

• Dormitory residents 24 years old and under
• Nursing and OT students regardless of age or resident status
• Students 24 and under with a chronic medical condition such as asthma

The Kaiser H1N1 nasal mist vaccine was given on October 27, 2009 in the Nursing Skills lab in Martin de Porres Hall to Kaiser members 24 & under who are dorm residents at Dominican, and Nursing and Occupational Therapy students who have Kaiser insurance and are or will be in clinical rotations this school year. Students who received a seasonal flu mist within the previous two weeks or have moderate to severe asthma should not have the H1N1 nasal mist vaccine.

More H1N1 vaccine was ordered through the Marin County Public Health Department.  The priority recipients of this vaccine would be pregnant women, infants, children, healthcare workers, and those age 24 and under. 

Seasonal flu vaccine has been available in both injection (shot form) and nasal mist. The mist is appropriate for students and staff under 50 years of age who do not have asthma or other chronic medical conditions. The cost is $20 or free if you are a current Kaiser member and have a member card.

Students’ academic concerns should not prevent them from staying home when ill. Such concerns should not prompt students to return to class or take examinations while still symptomatic and potentially infectious.

Pursuant to the CDC guidelines for colleges and universities regarding H1N1, Dominican faculty have been asked to consider modifying policies on missed classes and examinations and late assignments to enable the self-isolation of students with the H1N1 flu.

Susana McKeough, RN, MS, Family Nurse Practitioner and Student Health Director at Dominican, said the Student Health Center, together with Community Health Nursing faculty and students,  has been administering the regular flu vaccine in its clinic in the Nursing Skills lab in Martin de Porres Hall since October 1st.   Students, faculty and staff are encouraged  to get vaccinated if they are a dorm resident, have a chronic health problem such as asthma, are a Healthcare provider, a Nursing or OT student, do any caretaking of those at high risk of complications from the flu, or are over the age of 50.

Dominican is working closely with the American College Health Association and the Marin County Public Health Department and will keep students informed as more information about the vaccine and the course that the H1N1 virus is taking in Marin and on campus becomes available.

ACHA is tracking three million college students and Dominican is participating in these weekly reports.

What You Can Do

In the meantime, Dominican has issued information and recommendations gleaned from the CDC’s Guidelines for Institutions of Higher Education and the American College Health Association regarding the H1N1 flu virus.  These are some practical steps students, faculty and staff can take to keep themselves and the Dominican community as healthy as possible in the face of this illness during the 2009-10 school year:

• Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands frequently with soap and water.  Alcohol based hand cleansers are also effective.  These can be found in many offices and buildings around campus.  Consider buying a small container to keep in your backpack, purse, car, and/or office.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.  Most illnesses, including the flu, are spread this way.
• Use good respiratory etiquette by coughing or sneezing into a tissue, your elbow, or your shoulder, rather than your hand (or not covering at all).
• Avoid sharing food, drinks or utensils.
• Avoid contact with people who are ill-- maintain at least a 3 foot distance form an ill person.
• Avoid being in confined, poorly ventilated spaces with a person who is ill.
• Practice other good health habits.  Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

Do You Have The Flu?

Know the symptoms of the flu.  These include a temperature greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 Celsius, a sore throat (usually a sudden onset vs. gradual), body aches, a cough, runny nose, headache, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.  It’s difficult to distinguish between the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu, but the seasonal flu doesn’t typically arrive in California until January.  A cold virus doesn’t usually cause the fever, body aches, a headache, or the sense that one “has been run over by a truck.”
 
Stay home if you have the flu or a  flu-like illness until 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or symptoms of a fever (chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating).  This should be determined without the use of fever reducing medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.  Please do not go to class, work, clinics, internships, sports practices or events.

Notify your professors, supervisors, and coaches that you have flu-like symptoms.

Where You Can Get Help

Students are encouraged to call the Student Health Center in Bertrand Hall if they come down with a flu-like illness (415 485-3208).  They should be seen at the Student Health Center or by another health care provider if they are short of breath, have asthma, or have any other chronic illness that puts them at risk for complications from the flu.  Go to the Emergency Room with any pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, or severe or persistent vomiting.  Dorm residents are encouraged to go home or to a local friend or relative’s home if at all possible.  Dominican has set aside a couple of rooms that can be used to isolate and monitor ill students.

Students also are encouraged to  set up a buddy system ahead of time so they have someone to help them (and visa versa) with logistics and the basics, just in case.  The Student Health Center has masks and information available for students attending to another student who is ill.

For more information, contact Susana McKeough, Mary Vidal, EMT, or Barb Inwald, DO, at the Dominican Student Health Center at Bertrand Hall, or refer to www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu