How Iowa Colleges and Universities Handled 2009's Pandemic During Obama/Biden

This is from the Cedar Rapids Gazette, September 9, 2009, by Cindy Hadish.
Bold highlighting is done by this blog:


Ill students will have meals delivered on some Eastern Iowa campuses, as colleges prepare for what appears to be an inevitable bout with H1N1 flu.

At Luther College in Decorah, 27 students and one staff member had reported flulike symptoms as of Tuesday, spokesman Jerry Johnson said, up from seven on Friday and rising almost hourly.

"Once an H1N1 case comes to a college campus, it's going to spread very rapidly," Johnson said, citing shared bathrooms, living quarters and dining halls. "It's just a matter of time before it comes to every college campus in the country."

Luther, with 2,500 students, had three students test positive for the H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu. Once three cases are reported, the virus is assumed to be in a community and further testing is not recommended.

Johnson said initial symptoms include sore throat, cough and headache, followed by a runny nose and body aches.

Most colleges in Eastern Iowa would cancel classes only as a last resort.

Dr. Dan Fick, campus health officer at the University of Iowa, said the 30,000-plus students in Iowa City shouldn't expect an announcement that H1N1 has been confirmed on campus.

"The assumption is we will have lots of students with it this fall," he said, and routine testing won't be conducted.

Students will be asked to stay in their rooms until fever-free for 24 hours, and for the first time, the UI will provide meals to ill students in their dorm rooms, Fick said. He hoped an H1N1 vaccine would be available by November.

At the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and Coe College in Cedar Rapids, free flu kits will be offered to students with flu symptoms. Kits include a thermometer, tissues, masks and other items. Both colleges also will deliver soup and other food to students in their dorm rooms.

Coe's dean of students, DeLane Duval, said ill students will be asked to go home or in their rooms. Roommates would likely stay with friends or can ask to relocate.

With many of Coe's 1,250 students living on campus, the college is advocating prevention, with tips such as washing hands frequently with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and avoiding sharing food, drink or utensils.

Kirkwood College in Cedar Rapids has seen more ill students earlier than in past years but has had no reported H1N1 cases, said Lori Jeppson, campus health director.

At Cornell College in Mount Vernon, students are directed to information on the student health and college Web sites, spokesman Blake Rasmussen said.

Students at Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids are asked to call the campus nurse and should go home or stay in their rooms if ill, said Sue Oatey, vice president for enrollment and student life.

No one at Luther College has been hospitalized. Ill students are asked to return home. Otherwise, they can stay in their rooms, where meals are delivered, and are advised to not attend class for three to seven days. Healthy roommates can move to a different room, Johnson said.