In the wake of growing international concern over the spread of H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, Penn has begun a University-wide push to educate students about preventing the spread of H1N1 influenza.
According to Student Health Service director Evelyn Wiener, because Penn has had only a handful of confirmed H1N1 cases, the primary goal right now is to educate students about how to keep themselves healthy using standard flu-season strategies.
SHS is also planning a large vaccination campaign as seasonal flu vaccine becomes available. Wiener said the SHS plans to immunize every Penn student, starting with high risk groups.
The University is taking no other specific actions to combat H1N1, she added. However, Penn's Pandemic Incident Management Team has released a report, "Preparing for Influenza at Penn," which outlines appropriate responses for students, faculty and staff.
Decisions on how to manage H1N1 cases are complicated by the fact that the virus is infectious but not very lethal, and by the evolving nature of the pandemic itself.
"[An outbreak] may not even be on a University-wide level," Wiener said. "It will happen, but different areas will be affected."
Other universities have already enacted plans similar to Penn's in response to H1N1 outbreaks. Emory University recently placed over 50 students suspected of having H1N1 in voluntary isolation in an attempt to curb an outbreak among incoming freshmen.
While H1N1 is a relatively new illness, Penn's preparations for dealing with an epidemic on campus go back to 2003, when Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, became an international concern.
Penn then outlined general principles for how to deal with a disease outbreak on campus. The guidelines were updated again a year and a half ago as part of an overall push by the administration to plan ways to handle crises with minimal disruption.
While most Penn students had left campus for the summer by the time H1N1 reached Philadelphia, some students were infected while traveling abroad.
Wharton senior and Weekly Pennsylvanian Editor-in-Chief Sherry Wang contracted H1N1 while working in South Korea at the University of Missouri Jeollanamdo Summer English Camp. She spent two weeks in quarantine and made a full recovery.
"I actually called my aunt and was like, 'I had the swine flu, but now I'm all good' and she just went, ' You know people die from that, right? Are you okay Sherry?'" Wang said. "It's just very amusing sometimes, because I've had the swine flu, I know how it is, and people are just overreacting. It's really not that bad. I didn't die. Obviously."
Students with flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue, are urged to remain at home and call SHS's hotline for H1N1 215-746-3535 for further information.
