Kimberly Goff-Crews and Nimalan Chinniah: Flu update
8:30 am, May 5, 2009
To: Faculty, Students and Staff
From: Kimberly Goff-Crews, Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students in the University; Nimalan Chinniah, Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer
Subject: Flu update
In its update yesterday, the Illinois Department of Public Health put the total number of confirmed cases of swine flu, or H1N1, at 9 statewide, with 90 more cases considered probable. Because H1N1 has proven to be mild across the U.S., however, the department now recommends specific H1N1 testing only for patients whose disease requires hospitalization.
The University of Chicago Medical Center will continue to test for and treat influenza, but at the request of public health officials, will not be sending positive samples along to the Illinois Department of Public Health or the CDC for further H1N1 testing unless special circumstances warrant it. No new cases at the University have reached the “probable” stage in testing so far. Preliminary screening turned up a very small number of suspicious cases, as well as a small group of seasonal, human flu cases unrelated to H1N1.
Though experts expect to see more cases, the good news — confirmed by top federal public health officials over the weekend — is that H1N1 appears to be no more severe than a typical, seasonal flu. The probable and suspicious cases here have all been mild. Fever and cough appear to be the most common symptoms, and as we remind ourselves daily, the best prevention remains frequent hand-washing, hand-sanitizing and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
If you would like to learn more about the flu situation, you may wish to attend a public forum on Wednesday, May 6, 5-6:30 p.m., at Chicago Booth’s Harper Center, Room C25, 5807 S. Woodlawn. People who are experiencing flu symptoms should stay home to avoid spreading their illness and should not attend this or other group venues. Also, because seating is limited, the program will be televised on the campus television network (for more information on cTV, please see http://nsit.uchicago.edu/docs/ctv). We plan to post a video of the program to our website at http://news.uchicago.edu/btn/swineflu.php on Thursday.
We want to clarify one issue that arose last week: While there was a contingency plan that would allow parts of the International House and the New Graduate Residence Hall to be used as alternate housing during an outbreak of illness, no students with flu were relocated. We appreciate your feedback during this flu episode — comments and concerns have factored into our planning, along with constantly changing information on the disease and its manifestation. As a community, our response to future events will benefit from what we are all learning now. And rest assured, all of our decisions have been driven by the best medical advice and the safety and health of all the members of our community.
As always, we encourage you to check for the latest news on the flu at http://news.uchicago.edu/btn/swineflu.php. If you have non-urgent questions you can’t find answers to there, feel free to call our Information Center at 773-702-7999, 9am–5pm, Monday through Friday. If you have a question after hours, you may leave a message and somebody will respond during business hours the next day. You may also email questions to swinefluinfo@lists.uchicago.edu.