Swine flu rates are expected to rise this fall across nation

    The flu that made headlines last spring is expected to return with a vengeance this fall. The H1N1 virus, more commonly known as the swine flu, is of particular concern on college and university campuses due to frequent student interaction and "because the virus appears to spread quickly among younger Americans," according to an August press release from the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for Disease Control.
    Late last May the Tufts Daily published a news story confirming two cases of the H1N1 virus among recent graduates. Since the article was published, the number of cases at Tufts has risen steadily, and is projected to increase exponentially once students return to the Medford/Somerville campus.
    "I expect [the number of cases of the H1N1 virus] to explode," Medical Director of Tufts Student Health Service Margaret Higham said.
    Higham believes that in September, well upwards of 40 Tufts students have been exposed to the H1N1 virus.
    She explained, however, that pinpointing an exact number of cases is difficult, since the test to verify H1N1's presence is only available in limited quantity.
    "There is a test that will definitely show the swine flu, but there's only one office in every state that does this test, and thus it has a very limited availability," Higham said. "Testing is only allowed for people who are severely ill in the hospital, or for what we call epidemiological reasons, [i.e.] if you're trying to see if the flu-like illness you're seeing on campus or in a work place is the H1N1. So all in all, very few people are tested for it."
    Distinguishing the H1N1 virus from the regular seasonal, or "winter," flu virus, is even more difficult because the symptoms between the two are virtually the same, according to Higham.
    Nevertheless, the U.S. Depart of Health and Human Services was able to identify the H1N1 virus last spring, once the number of cases of the winter flu began to diminish.
    "By the end of May, it was becoming apparent that the regular winter flu was basically done with, and all the cases of flu-like symptoms that [the public health department] were testing, which was, admittedly, a limited number, were the H1N1 virus," Higham said.
    Whether or not the cases present in Tufts students have been the H1N1 virus, a large number of students have visited Health Service complaining of flu-like symptoms since last May.
    One recent Tufts graduate, Ashti Mistry (A '09), cited cold and flu-like symptoms during the summer, but was shocked when doctors told her what she was experiencing was actually the H1N1 virus.
    "I first started to feel the symptoms a few days before I went to the doctor. Basically all I had was a cough and I was just feeling really stuffy and continuously tired, [but] once I had a fever I knew that something was wrong. I rarely get [fevers] and never higher than 100, but this time my fevers were up to 101, sometimes 102," Mistry said. "I went to the doctor and was made to wear a mask the whole time there. I thought it was all a bit ridiculous and I didn't believe the doctor when he diagnosed me."
    Because Mistry was living off campus at the time, she was not diagnosed through Tufts' Health Service. However, she was taking summer courses at Tufts during her illness.
    "I had to keep up with the work from all the classes I was missing, especially because it was the last week of classes and my final was due soon after, with an extension," Mistry said. "Reading and paying attention to what I was reading was incredibly hard. All I wanted to do was lie in bed and sleep."
    Luckily for Mistry, her professors were very accommodating and gave her extensions during her illness.
    "When I had to e-mail my teacher and tell him that I wouldn't be able to continue coming to the rest of the class … he was very helpful and was very willing to give me extensions," she said. "He also informed Tufts that I was ill and I got a few calls from the staff at Health [Service] just checking in to see if I was OK."
    Staying home from school is precisely what Higham has been recommending for sick students. Furthermore, Higham hopes that sick students will be able leave campus entirely, which she stressed in a letter sent out to parents this past summer.
    "We want to give students the incentive to, if at all possible, try and leave campus when they're sick, and try and go home with parents, friends, or relatives," Higham said. "If not, we will try and see what we can do to keep people in single rooms as much as possible, but we don't have a whole dorm to turn into an isolation ward or anything. We're making plans to try and encourage everyone to stay away from others as much as possible."
    Although staying home from school is effective once students have been diagnosed with an illness, taking preventive measures before getting sick is of equal or greater importance.
    "The advice recommended by experts includes: wash your hands often, cough into your sleeve rather than your bare hand and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth," according to a newsletter Tufts Provost Jamshed Bharucha sent to the Tufts community on Sept. 2nd.
    Although these recommendations have been echoed by medical professionals for years, Higham stressed that they can make a huge difference.
    "People kind of get bored when we talk about washing your hands," she said. "But the third thing, which people tend to forget about, is try not to touch your eyes and nose so much. We all do it subconsciously, but [the virus] doesn't get into your body through your mouth. You could lick your fingers [which may have been exposed to the virus], and chances are you won't get sick, but if you touch near your eye, you're going to get sick."
    In terms of preventive vaccinations, the situation is less straightforward. Higham explained that an H1N1 vaccination is projected to emerge in late fall or early winter of the upcoming academic year, but neither the exact date nor the precise quantity of vaccines the university will receive can be pinpointed.
    "The federal government is in charge of all the vaccines that are being manufactured. I can't order our own supply of it. The federal government will be giving the vaccine to the states, and then the states will be distributing that vaccine within the states, based on who is at the highest priority for getting it," Higham said. "College students are on the priority list, but they're kind of at the bottom. They're what I call ‘second tier.' So I do expect that we will get vaccines, but I don't expect it to be right away."
    While the H1N1 vaccine may take a while to reach the Tufts campus, Higham stressed that the regular flu vaccine will be available at Tufts Student Health Service in full supply, and even at an earlier date this year than it has been offered in the past.
    All information related to the regular flu vaccine, as well as news related to the H1N1 virus, will be disseminated to students and parents via e-mail and mail, as well as through the Health Service Web site.