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2,000-plus sick at WSU

University hands out kits to treat swine flu
John Stucke

More than 2,000 Washington State University students have been sickened by swine flu during the first two weeks of classes, school health officials said.

The outbreak of H1N1 influenza prompted concerns about Saturday’s football matchup against Stanford at Martin Stadium.

While school and health officials stressed that attending the game poses little risk of infection, {time will tell!} they urged people sick with the flu to stay home and encouraged fans to wash their hands, to avoid sharing food and drink, and to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing. Pregnant women and people with underlying health risks such as diabetics, asthma or heart or lung disease should consider skipping the game, health officials said.

Far more than 2,000 students could be ill, said Dr. Dennis Garcia, although the number of students seeking care and calling nurses at WSU’s Health and Wellness Services fell for the first time Thursday since classes started.

Dozens, perhaps even hundreds, more students have called or gone into Pullman Regional Hospital seeking treatment. There have been no deaths and no students have developed severe symptoms requiring hospitalization.

Rather, Garcia said, most students suffer through three to five days of discomfort. The school is handing out free flu kits including a thermometer, painkillers, throat lozenges, sport drinks, hand sanitizer and tissues.

While WSU wrestles with H1N1, Spokane-area schools have avoided outbreaks so far.

“There’s nothing that unusual about our absent students or what parents are telling us,” said Kathe Reed-McKay, director of health services for Spokane Public Schools. “But that could change in an instant.”

There has been just one student case of H1N1 at Gonzaga University in the first week of classes, and a few at Eastern Washington University, though classes there haven’t yet started.

Public health officials long ago gave up trying to ascertain an accurate number of people sickened with H1N1 influenza. Only the most serious cases – including hospitalizations and deaths – are confirmed by the Washington State Public Health Laboratory.

The vast majority of people with flu symptoms – and likely infected with H1N1 – are encouraged to take fever-reducing medicine such as over-the-counter acetaminophen (such as Tylenol), and rest. Only if symptoms worsen or people have underlying health problems should they seek medical attention. Otherwise, they should stay home.

“That’s what has to happen to control the spread,” said Julie Graham, spokeswoman for the Spokane Regional Health District.

Garcia said he believes many students have gotten the message, and rather than seeking medical help they are resting and being cared for by roommates.

Garcia said the symptoms of H1N1 are a giveaway. Sick WSU students have reported sore and scratchy throats, chest pain reminiscent of heartburn, and headaches that come and go. Many students also have chills, body aches and nausea and run a fever upward of 103 degrees for two days. {Great analysis!!}

Preparations for an H1N1 flu outbreak in Spokane continue to jell. The health district has asked clinics, hospitals and other providers to help provide H1N1 vaccines when they arrive in mid-October.

If providers’ response is not large enough to quickly vaccinate the most vulnerable people – including pregnant women, children and health care workers – the district will consider revamping its normal distribution methods.

Hospitals have been putting plans in place in case the H1N1 infections grow in number and severity.

Nurses, doctors and employee health coordinators have been preparing areas of Deaconess Medical Center for additional triage and screening, hospital spokeswoman Christine Varela said.

Employees have been asked to get vaccinated, not only for their own health but also for the safety of already-sick hospital patients who could be endangered if they get H1N1.

“We take this seriously and are ready to be there for people,” Varela said.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/sep/04/2000-plus-sick-at-wsu/

http://hws.wsu.edu/blog/default.asp

H1N1 Flu @ WSU
We started this blog Sept. 1, 2009. We will continue to add information regularly.

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HWS Daily Update for Fri. Sept. 4
by healthycoug
We had a total of 114 patient contacts yesterday for influenza-like illness. (We had 42 phone nurse conversations; 49 patients who chose to self care after talking with a nurse; and 23 patients who were seen by providers.) We’ve been asked by the county health department to track numbers in this way to give us a better idea of how many students at WSU actually have influenza-like illness. We are following Centers for Disease Control guidelines and recommending patients with influenza-like illness self care and self isolate if appropriate. Because of this, the total number of patients who actually see ... [more]
HWS Daily Update for Thurs. Sept. 3
by healthycoug
We had a total of 185 patient contacts yesterday for influenza-like illness. (We had 72 phone nurse conversations; 53 patients who chose to self care after talking with a nurse; and 60 patients who were seen by providers.) Tracking in this manner helps us get a better idea of how many students at WSU have influenza-like symptoms and allows us to give more complete information to county health officials. These numbers have been fairly consistent since August 24, and there is no evidence to predict whether patient flow will increase or decrease. We estimate that we have been in contact with ... [more]
I’ve heard Health & Wellness Services is turning patients away. Is this true?
by healthycoug
No, absolutely not. We continue to see patients with flu and non-flu related health concerns. I think there is some confusion because we are following Centers for Disease Control guidelines in which people with influenza-like symptoms are encouraged to self care and self isolate. We are in fact encouraging all students, who are not at high risk for complications from influenza or who do not have severe symptoms, to follow CDC guidelines and to self care and self isolate. We are doing this in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. However, if any student is unsure about their ... [more]
Just how serious is the H1N1 flu situation at WSU?
by healthycoug
We were trying to put fears to rest by saying that the majority of patients we’ve been seeing have had mild symptoms and recovered within a week. From a phone conversation with a concerned parent this afternoon, I gather that statement was less than comforting. The word “majority” has a lot of wiggle room, and people don’t know if that means 51% or 99%. To be absolutely clear, at the time of this post, I can say that out of the hundreds of patients we’ve been in contact with in the last week, not even one has been hospitalized or ... [more]
Q & A for Parents of Students in Residence Halls and Greek Housing
by healthycoug
We’ve been working with Residence Life and the Greek Community to gather some of the questions they’ve been receiving from parents. Please comment and let us know if you want more information about a specific topic. Q: What do you mean by “self isolation?”A: It basically means that people who have influenza-like illness should limit contact as much as possible with others until 24 hours after their fever is gone without the use of fever reducing medications. Students should stay home – meaning wherever they live in Pullman, in their own room, as much as possible unless they need medical care or ... [more]
Welcome to our Flu Blog
by healthycoug
Every morning at HWS, a small group of us gather to review the previous day’s flu related activities on campus. We talk daily with campus leaders to monitor the situation and to determine what steps need to be taken next. It is clear from our conversations that many of you want more info, and you want it faster and clearer. This blog is our effort to provide you with that information as quickly and as accurately as possible. To begin, we’ve pasted some of the simple answers to questions we believe to be important. We hope that through responses from our ... [more]
The Basics
by healthycoug
Q: What are the symptoms of H1N1 flu?A: The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Q: How can my child avoid getting the flu?A: There is no vaccine available right now to protect against novel H1N1 virus. However, a novel H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and may be ready by November. As always, Health & Wellness Services will offer to students the seasonal flu vaccine and ... [more]
HWS Daily Update for Wed. Sept. 2
by healthycoug
We continue to see a steady volume of patients with influenza-like illness. This is unusual at this time of year when we would typically only see a handful of patients with influenza-like illness. Fortunately, the majority of our patients have had mild symptoms and are usually better in three to five days. At this point there is no evidence to predict whether patient flow will increase or decrease. We will be open our usual Saturday hours from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We will continue to be open extra Sunday hours ( 10 a.m. to 2:30 pm) as long as ... [more]
HWS Daily Update for Tues. Sept. 1
by healthycoug
At Health & Wellness Services (HWS), we are continuing to see a steady volume of patients with influenza-like illness. At this point there is no evidence to predict whether patient flow will increase or decrease. To accommodate student need, we were open extra hours Sunday and anticipate that we will be open again next Sunday. Based on diagnostic codes in our medical records, we saw an estimated 90 patients yesterday with influenza-like illness. Prior to yesterday, we had seen 302 patients with influenza-like illness since Monday, August 24. Health care providers in the local community have also seen WSU students with ... [more]