Update on h1n1

Now that we are more than a third of the way through the fall semester, we would like to update the community on the impact of H1N1 influenza at Tufts. While the volume of influenza-like illness ILI at Tufts is increasing, our cooperative efforts are addressing the resulting challenges successfully.

We are happy to say that all students and employees affected by ILI have recovered or are well on the way to recovery. Most, though not all, have been undergraduates. An increasing percentage of these cases appear to be H1N1, although since testing is limited it is hard to know for sure.

Some students have been ill for only a few days, others for over a week. Many of the ill students have been able to go home, or already live in an apartment or single room and were able to self-isolate there. Others have moved to isolation rooms, which are located throughout the residence halls, and stayed there until their fevers resolved.

On the Boston campus, we are aware of some 20 cases of ILI among students. We have not heard of any cases among students in Grafton. We are also aware of some cases of ILI among faculty and staff. However, we have not seen any significant uptick in illness among faculty or staff. The final CDC influenza activity report for the flu season was published on May 28, While influenza surveillance takes place year-round, official reporting FluView publication routinely happens between October and May to coincide with normally occurring influenza activity in the United States.

Unless unusual influenza activity occurs over the summer of , surveillance reports for all influenza viruses for the season will resume in October and appear on the seasonal influenza website.

The H1N1 web pages, including situation updates, will be archived for historical purposes. Weekly Flu Activity Estimates. Each week, year-round, CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States. Findings of key flu indicators are published in a report called FluView from October through mid-May to coincide with typical seasonal influenza activity in the United States. During the week of May 16—22, , the final FluView for the influenza season nationally all key flu indicators are low.

Below is a summary of the final key indicators. Reporting for the influenza season will resume in October and appear on the seasonal influenza website. Skip directly to search Skip directly to A to Z list Skip directly to navigation Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options. All members of the campus community are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this free vaccine.

Note : If you are under the age of 18, you will need parental consent. Consent forms are available at www. Please have the completed form with you or faxed to , Attn: Flu Clinic. Governor David A. Paterson announced today that, effective immediately, H1N1 flu vaccine will be made available to all New Yorkers who want the vaccine, including those who are outside the initial priority groups. Since early October, when the H1N1 flu vaccine first became available, New York State has focused on providing access to the vaccine for New Yorkers in priority groups considered at highest risk of serious illness from the flu.

As a result of these efforts and increased supplies of vaccines, it is now appropriate to expand access to the vaccine to help more New Yorkers get protection against the flu. New York State continues to report widespread H1N1 flu activity for this time of the year, although rates of disease, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for influenza have dropped significantly in the last several weeks statewide.

However, the flu can be unpredictable, and it is very possible that there will be another wave of influenza activity moving into the winter months. Therefore, there is a window of opportunity in the coming weeks to vaccinate people to provide protection against a possible future wave of the H1N1 flu this winter and spring.

With the supply of vaccine increasing, New Yorkers are being urged to take advantage of the opportunity to protect themselves and their families against the flu. While the supplies of injectable vaccines are still increasing, supplies of the live attenuated influenza vaccine LAIV or nasal spray vaccine are readily available. LAIV is a safe and effective vaccine option for persons aged 2 - 49 years who are otherwise healthy and not pregnant.

It is a weakened live virus vaccine, which cannot cause influenza. The H1N1 vaccine is as safe and effective as the ordinary seasonal flu vaccine and is developed using the same process as seasonal vaccine. Flu vaccines have consistently had excellent safety records in recent decades, as documented in multi-year studies.

Public health officials continue to emphasize that getting the vaccine is much safer than getting the flu. Fredonia has a dedicated team of professionals who have been monitoring reports of human cases of Influenza A H1N1 throughout the region and across the nation. Like much of Chautauqua County and Western New York, our campus has experienced some cases of individuals students, faculty and staff presenting what are being referred to in the medical industry as influenza-like illnesses ILIs.

Regular testing is no longer being conducted to confirm if an individual has officially contracted H1N1, but most people with flu-like symptoms at this time are presuming that it is an H1N1 infection. If you do start to experience flu-like symptoms, we strongly encourage you to isolate yourself so as to not further spread the illness.

Students are encouraged to leave campus and return to their homes if private transportation is available, or remain in their residential hall space until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines.

More details on what to do if you experience flu-like symptoms is provided below. We continue to encourage faculty members to be understanding and flexible with students during this time, and not require doctor's notes or other documentation for reasonable absences from class. Updates will be posted, when necessary, on the Fredonia homepage www.

How to protect yourself from getting sick. Here is what you should do if you suffer symptoms of an Influenza Like Illness. H1N1 Influenza, referred to as "swine flu" early on , is a contagious respiratory illness like seasonal influenza which can be spread from person to person through the air in droplets when someone infected with the virus coughs, sneezes, or laughs. This virus was originally referred to as "swine flu" because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs swine in North America.

But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs.

It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and bird avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a "quadruple reassortment" virus. The new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April Most people who have become ill with this new virus have recovered without requiring medical treatment. The CDC routinely works with states to collect, compile, and analyze information about influenza, and has done the same for the new H1N1 virus since the beginning of the outbreak.

Spread of the H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spread. Flu viruses can be spread from person to person through the air in droplets when someone infected with the virus coughs, sneezes, or laughs.

Sometimes people become infected by touching something, such as a surface or object, which contain flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. If you become ill and experience any of the following warnings signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:. Illness with the new H1N1 virus has ranged from mild to severe. While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infections with this virus have occurred.

In seasonal flu, certain people are at "high risk" for serious complications. This includes people 65 years and older, children younger than five years old, pregnant women, and people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions. About 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with this H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing them at "high risk" of serious seasonal flu related complications.

This includes pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease. One thing that appears to be different from seasonal influenza is that adults older than 64 years do not yet appear to be at increased risk of H1N1 related complications thus far.

People infected with the seasonal or H1N1 flu shed virus, and may be able to infect others from 1 day prior to getting sick to 5 to 7 days after.