Swine flu cases increase on campus
Tawanda Kanhema
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: News
Higgins said unreported cases have made it difficult for health officials to know how many cases there are, as many students are attempting self-care at home without reporting to the health center.Â
When the south sneezes...
The flu so far has breached the best contingency measures put in place to curb its spread, mainly because of the high mobility of people, especially by air travel. New cases mostly have been reported after long weekends like the Labor Day holiday, which saw millions of people travelling across states. A combination of travel and the onset of the winter season is expected to have the effect of gasoline on fire.
Kirksville family medicine physician Justin Puckett said he thinks Truman and the broader Kirksville community have been particularly lucky to have a relatively low number of cases, a trend he attributes to the awareness campaigns. But he said winter is likely to bring a resurgence of the flu.
"For a university of [Truman's] size, the numbers are relatively low comparatively," Puckett said. "Overall, we have been lucky. Â It appears much of our public education has worked here. We are staying home when we are sick. Â We are washing our hands. Â Truman students have implemented the recommendations of public health officials to prevent spread of the virus."
Puckett said countries in the southern hemisphere already have had their winter, enabling medical professionals to have a glimpse into the behavior of the virus. He said observations were that H1N1 didn't seem to make people sicker than the seasonal flu. However, viral infection rates for both H1N1 and seasonal flus are expected to increase in winter as more people are pushed inside by colder weather.
"The big difference is that, especially for the younger groups with less antigen (virus) exposure, the virus is just passing to others more easily, and so more people are getting sick," Puckett said. "If more people are infected with the flu in a flu season, more are going to have complications, and more people are going to die. Â Even if the fractions are the same, the raw numbers are expected to be higher this year."
When the south sneezes...
The flu so far has breached the best contingency measures put in place to curb its spread, mainly because of the high mobility of people, especially by air travel. New cases mostly have been reported after long weekends like the Labor Day holiday, which saw millions of people travelling across states. A combination of travel and the onset of the winter season is expected to have the effect of gasoline on fire.
Kirksville family medicine physician Justin Puckett said he thinks Truman and the broader Kirksville community have been particularly lucky to have a relatively low number of cases, a trend he attributes to the awareness campaigns. But he said winter is likely to bring a resurgence of the flu.
"For a university of [Truman's] size, the numbers are relatively low comparatively," Puckett said. "Overall, we have been lucky. Â It appears much of our public education has worked here. We are staying home when we are sick. Â We are washing our hands. Â Truman students have implemented the recommendations of public health officials to prevent spread of the virus."
Puckett said countries in the southern hemisphere already have had their winter, enabling medical professionals to have a glimpse into the behavior of the virus. He said observations were that H1N1 didn't seem to make people sicker than the seasonal flu. However, viral infection rates for both H1N1 and seasonal flus are expected to increase in winter as more people are pushed inside by colder weather.
"The big difference is that, especially for the younger groups with less antigen (virus) exposure, the virus is just passing to others more easily, and so more people are getting sick," Puckett said. "If more people are infected with the flu in a flu season, more are going to have complications, and more people are going to die. Â Even if the fractions are the same, the raw numbers are expected to be higher this year."
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