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Pullman: Swine flu confirmed in five WSU college students
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
Published: 08/27/09 5:53 am | Updated: 08/27/09 7:51 am
PULLMAN -- Classes began just a few days ago, but Washington State University already is seeing its first cases of swine flu on campus.
Five students at the main campus in Pullman have been confirmed to have H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu. About 50 students have been seen at the Health and Wellness Center with flu-like symptoms, said WSU spokesman James Tinney.
WSU Tri-Cities has had no reports of students, staff or faculty with swine flu, said spokeswoman Melissa O'Neil Perdue.
Tinney said campus officials expected to see swine flu on campus as students returned and classes began Monday.
So far, the confirmed cases have been mild with no serious illness or hospitalization, he said.
Despite the nickname, swine flu does not come from consuming pork, but rather is passed by human-to-human contact like other forms of the flu.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting.
Campus officials are stressing precautionary measures such as covering the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, washing hands often with soap and water or using alcohol-based sanitizers, and avoiding contact with sick people.
While swine flu seems quite easy to catch, it so far hasn't been more deadly than the flu strains seen every fall and winter -- many people have only mild illness. And close genetic tracking of the new virus as it circled the globe over the last five months has shown no sign that it's mutating to become more virulent, the Associated Press reported.
A scenario released by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology on Monday estimated that anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of the population could catch swine flu this season, with 30,000 to 90,000 possible deaths and up to 1.8 million hospital admissions, according to the AP.
In a regular flu season, up to 20 percent of the population is infected and 36,000 die.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disputed that scenario in a taped interview on C-SPAN on Wednesday, the AP reported.
"Everything we've seen in the U.S. and everything we've seen around the world suggests we won't see that kind of number if the virus doesn't change," said Dr. Thomas Frieden.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on NBC's Today show on Tuesday that vaccinations would be the best defense against what the World Health Organization has declared a global influenza pandemic.
But the first supplies of swine flu vaccine won't be available until October and most not until Thanksgiving.
Sebelius nonetheless urged people to get their seasonal flu shots -- which will be separate from the swine flu vaccine -- when they become available in early September.
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
Published: 08/27/09 5:53 am | Updated: 08/27/09 7:51 am
PULLMAN -- Classes began just a few days ago, but Washington State University already is seeing its first cases of swine flu on campus.
Five students at the main campus in Pullman have been confirmed to have H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu. About 50 students have been seen at the Health and Wellness Center with flu-like symptoms, said WSU spokesman James Tinney.
WSU Tri-Cities has had no reports of students, staff or faculty with swine flu, said spokeswoman Melissa O'Neil Perdue.
Tinney said campus officials expected to see swine flu on campus as students returned and classes began Monday.
So far, the confirmed cases have been mild with no serious illness or hospitalization, he said.
Despite the nickname, swine flu does not come from consuming pork, but rather is passed by human-to-human contact like other forms of the flu.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting.
Campus officials are stressing precautionary measures such as covering the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, washing hands often with soap and water or using alcohol-based sanitizers, and avoiding contact with sick people.
While swine flu seems quite easy to catch, it so far hasn't been more deadly than the flu strains seen every fall and winter -- many people have only mild illness. And close genetic tracking of the new virus as it circled the globe over the last five months has shown no sign that it's mutating to become more virulent, the Associated Press reported.
A scenario released by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology on Monday estimated that anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of the population could catch swine flu this season, with 30,000 to 90,000 possible deaths and up to 1.8 million hospital admissions, according to the AP.
In a regular flu season, up to 20 percent of the population is infected and 36,000 die.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disputed that scenario in a taped interview on C-SPAN on Wednesday, the AP reported.
"Everything we've seen in the U.S. and everything we've seen around the world suggests we won't see that kind of number if the virus doesn't change," said Dr. Thomas Frieden.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on NBC's Today show on Tuesday that vaccinations would be the best defense against what the World Health Organization has declared a global influenza pandemic.
But the first supplies of swine flu vaccine won't be available until October and most not until Thanksgiving.
Sebelius nonetheless urged people to get their seasonal flu shots -- which will be separate from the swine flu vaccine -- when they become available in early September.
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