SU swine flu tally rises to 6
Three more suspected cases of swine flu have hit Syracuse University, bringing the total number to six, said Carol Masiclat, a spokeswoman for SU Health Services.
While the suspected cases tested positive for seasonal flu during the rapid flu test administered by Health Services, additional testing needs to be done by a state lab to confirm if the students have swine flu, said Kathy VanVechten, associate director of Health Services.
‘Because we are at a time in the season where it’s a little early for seasonal flu, they are basically deducing that it is likely H1N1,’ Masiclat said. ‘So we can’t say authoritatively, ‘Yes or no.”
Students who have presented symptoms are only mildly ill, VanVechten said.
Health Services has seen 29 people with flu-like symptoms, but these patients have not tested positive for the seasonal virus after the rapid test, Masiclat said.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the H1N1 vaccine which will be available to college campuses by mid-October, said Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, in a news conference Friday.
SU does not know when it will receive the vaccine. When the university does receive the vaccine, it must follow the Onondaga County and Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for administering it.
‘The estimated delivery dates aren’t necessarily the dates we would have everything logistically set up to start administering it,’ Masiclat said. ‘If we’re following what’s being discussed in the news, it looks like it’s soon, but we have not been notified by the county that it’s going to appear on a certain day.’
In the conference, Sebelius said there is concern that the H1N1 virus might become more powerful than it is now, resulting in more severe cases than SU has seen so far. Should that happen, SU will be prepared, VanVechten said.
‘We would prepare under the state and health department guidance, just like we have all the way along,’ VanVechten said.
Health Services offered seasonal flu shot clinics on Sept. 11 and Sept. 15. During the clinics, Health Services ran out of the 2,000 shots it had received from its total order of 4,000. Health Services plans to schedule more clinics when it receives the additional vaccines, Masiclat said.
SU has seen far fewer cases of swine flu compared to other universities. Cornell University reported 623 cases of swine flu and one death last week from complications related to the virus, according to its student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun.
Masiclat said SU could see more cases of swine flu in the near future.
‘Given that this is a disease no one has an immunity to, it’s reasonable to think that the numbers will go higher,’ she said. ‘There’s not really a way to explain why some other schools have higher number than ours.’
Published on September 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm
