FARMINGTON – As the school year opens, officials are taking steps for an expected surge in the incidence of the H1N1 influenza.
Already one University of Maine at Farmington student reported “flu-like symptoms” and was advised to stay home and recover, said Celeste Branham, UMF’s vice president for Student and Community Services. The student, Branham stressed, was not tested nor confirmed to have the H1N1 virus or “swine flu.” In general, reported cases will not be tested by the state because the flu is simply too common.
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“There is not one case confirmed,” Branham said at UMF. “The student stayed at home and the case is not of a concern.” The early report of a flu case on campus, however, does highlight the need for university’s planned response to what is expected by the Maine Center for Disease to be a higher incidence of the H1N1 influenza this fall that has shown to affect more people under the age of 25.
As of last Friday, Aug. 28, Maine identified 360 cases of H1N1, which include 19 individuals requiring hospitalization and one individual who has died, according to Maine CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services. The numbers of cases reported are not believed to be actual total number of cases, but are used only as an indicator, the report noted, because not all people with infection are tested.
Of Maine residents with H1N1, 60 percent have been under 25 years of age, which is why the state’s school systems are taking extra precautions and vaccinations will be made available to be administered through the schools and colleges by mid-October.
Both MSAD 58 and Mt. Blue Regional School District have said they intend to follow the guidelines of the state’s CDC, not only for the H1N1 flu, but also the seasonal flu. The cost of the immunizations against both the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu would be covered by the state.
Mt. Blue RSD Superintendent Michael Cormier said that letters had been sent home with students, asking parents if they wanted to get their child immunized against the seasonal flu through a district-wide clinic, or through a private healthcare provider. Some parents, Cormier noted, were declining participation in the school system’s clinic, only to discover that their own provider wouldn’t necessarily be able to provide seasonal flu shots in the near future.
While those shots would likely be administered in September, school districts are currently hearing that H1N1 shots might not be available until mid-October. Cormier said that a number of volunteers in and out of medical professional fields had come forward to offer assistance in helping hold the clinics. Mt. Blue RSD is considering having the immunizations administered to elementary students after school hours or during weekends, to allow families to come in with their children. Older students would likely be given the shots during the school day.
The district’s staff, Cormier said, could be immunized as well, either paying for the shots or having the bill sent to their health insurance provider.
Another round of letters will go home with students when the H1N1 immunizations become available.
Meanwhile, officials at UMF have been meeting since last spring with the University of Maine System’s crisis management team and the Maine CDC to establish a protocol to follow in response to the expected cases of influenza, both the seasonal and the H1N1 strains.
First and foremost, Branham said, students, faculty and staff with flu-like symptoms are being asked to stay at home.
“There’s a tendency to want to push through and go to work but we’re asking people to stay home,” she said. “We want students to go home and to not use public transportation to get there, but a private car.” Those with flu-like symptoms, which can include a fever, cough and sore throat, are advised to remain at home or away from people until 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or in the absence of a fever, when symptoms subside.
If a student can’t go home, the university has set aside private rooms and will identify sequestered bathrooms so the affected student can be isolated from the general campus community. A nurse will visit the student each day and meals will be delivered to the room. A phone is provided so that calls to the health center are facilitated, Branham said.
In addition, “high touch” surfaces, such as door knobs, computer lab keyboards and so on, will get additional cleaning and sanitizing wipes are provided for use at the fitness center, computer lab, classrooms and offices. Instructions on proper hand washing and coughing and sneezing techniques are everywhere students and staff can pick up a copy.
“Communication is key. We know we can’t eliminate the flu but we are attempting to mitigate it,” Branham said. “We want to try and keep it contained as best we can.”
The H1N1 vaccinations will be made available to UMF’s students and staff on campus. Two vaccinations are required for the H1N1, the first round to be made available in mid October and the second round is expected to be available in December or January. The vaccination’s protection doesn’t kick in until two weeks after the second shot.
Branham said the supply will be limited so those in the higher risk categories should be targeted to receive the vaccination. The higher risk categories, according to the CDC, are: those people six months to age 24, pregnant women, because they are at higher risk of complications – especially in the second and third trimesters –
and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated; household members and caregivers for children under six months old, because younger infants are at higher risk of complications and cannot be vaccinated; health care and emergency medical services personnel, because infections among health care workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for patients; people ages 25 through 64 who have health conditions associated with a higher risk of medical complications from the flu, including those with asthma, COPD, diabetes, chronic cardiovascular disease, and people with compromised immune systems.
The CDC also recommends that everyone get a regular, seasonal flu shot as soon as possible to help a person’s overall protection against the flu. UMF will hold clinics on campus when the seasonal flu vaccine is available.
“Education will make the difference,” Branham said.
Updates posted by Franklin Memorial Hospital can be found here: http://www.fchn.org/news/swine-flu-h1n1-virus-daily-update
For the state’s update on H1N1: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/maineflu/swine-flu-update-archives.shtml. Information will be updated on UMF’s web site here: http://www.umf.maine.edu/
