Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Two A&M students sick with H1N1 virus
By Julie Rambin
The Battalion, Texas A&M
June 15, 2009

Two students within the Department of Visualization in the College of Architecture have suspected cases of H1N1 influenza, university officials said Thursday.

"This is a group of students that are very close to each other," said College of Architecture dean Jorge Vanegas. "Some of them had been sick normally, like everyone else."

On the same day, the World Health Organization announced the first global flu outbreak for more than 40 years, raising the warning level to phase 6 - the highest alert.

The father of one of the A&M students, who is a virologist, tested the students for H1N1.

"Immediately upon being alerted by the father of this student, we put in place all the protocols of the University," Vanegas said. "University officials and Brazos County health officials were immediately notified."

The classes that the students were enrolled in were canceled for a week, said University Risk and Compliance associate vice president Charley Clark.

"We also notified custodial services to wipe down or disinfect the two rooms that were involved," Clark said. "We've taken the protective measures."

The cases will be considered suspected until conclusive results are received from the state lab in Austin, Clark said.

"We took very strict action. We followed all protocols," Vanegas said. "I think we have all taken the immediate, expedient and necessary precautions."

The Department of Visualization has been working closely with University administration, Vanegas said.

"[Visualization department Head] Tim McLaughlin has acted in an exemplary fashion," Vanegas said. "He has been very proactive for the well-being of all our students, faculty, staff and visitors."

The department's response is compatible with what is known about the H1N1 virus and the suspected cases, Vanegas said.

"There's not really a huge spike of cases," Vanegas said. "We're not looking at hundreds of people getting sick."

Students should not avoid going to class due to fear of H1N1, Clark said.

"It appears to be localized in the College of Architecture," Clark said. "We've asked people who are ill not to come to school." He said students who are not ill should take precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though the H1N1 virus is treatable, students should protect themselves and others against it, said Student Health Services health educator Lauren Dorsett.

"Wash your hands frequently with soap and water," Dorsett said. "Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and if you are feeling sick, you want to stay home until you're feeling better."

Phase 6 means a global flu pandemic has begun, including community-level outbreaks in at least two world regions. The World Health Organization declared Phase 6 on Thursday after increased infections in Europe, Australia, Chile and elsewhere.

This does not mean the virus is as yet as deadly as the Hong Kong flu, which killed 1 million in 1968, but that it is spreading in at least two regions of the world

WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan said: "It is now unstoppable - and there is sure to be a second wave." She forecast winter would see more deaths on top of the 141 already, from 27,737 cases in 74 countries.

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