BY AMELIA POSSANZA

In print | Published October 29, 2009

Chemistry professor Bob Paley hasn’t given a make-up exam in his 20 years at Swarthmore. But when two of his students came down with influenza-like illnesses, or ILI, this week, he was forced to make an exception.

H1N1 — commonly known as swine flu — has officially reached Swarthmore College. The first case was confirmed the week before fall break, and since then over two percent of the student body has visited the health center with a case of suspected or confirmed swine flu. So far, though, there have been no serious medical complications.

“To date, all the students who’ve presented with influenza-like illness have done very very well,” said Beth Kotarski, director of student health services. “None of them have had to have very high medical intervention.”

Following the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and American College Health Association, Worth Health Center tested any students with ILI for swine flu until confirmed cases cropped up on campus.

The first positive test results came in the week before fall break. Since then, the health center has treated anyone with an ILI as if they have the flu, either seasonal or H1N1. “Anything that talks like a duck and walks like a duck is a duck,” Kotarski said. She added that seasonal flu cases are very low right now in the area. This policy keeps labs from getting flooded with tests.

After the health center did the numbers and sent an e-mail Friday stating that two percent of the student body had come down with ILIs, more cases were reported. Kotarski said, “Over the weekend we increased our numbers. Really on Friday we started to see the symptoms.”

Kotarski plans to continue sending students updates on increases in the percentage of students presenting with ILI each Friday. She predicts that by the end of the week, the percentage of students who have or have had the flu will be up to four percent.

“We’re not going to do a case count,” she said. “We’re not going to give numbers. It creates panic. I think percentages are much more accurate in showing exactly what’s going on.”

Speaking in terms of how these numbers compare with previous years, Kotarski said, “The numbers are still not in any way alarming to us. They’re expected. We’re following the trend of what smaller colleges are experiencing right now.”

Acting Dean of Students Garikai Campbell ’90 echoed this statement.

“If you look at what’s happening nationwide, it’s only a matter of time before flu hits,” he said.

The only major difference is the time of year at which the cases cropped up. According to the CDC, H1N1 doesn’t follow the typical seasonal flu patterns, as shown by the late spring outbreak earlier this year.

The individual cases on campus have lasted on average from three to five days.

Kotarski said she could not predict how long it would take for the infection to pass through the majority of the population.

“The other colleges in Philadelphia, like La Salle and other places that have had big numbers of flu cases — they are really starting to see a decline. It took them three or four weeks to get it through their bigger populations,” she said.

None of the students with an ILI have experienced any complications such as secondary infection, trouble breathing or eating, or a high and sustained fever. Some students with asthma were sent to the emergency room for x-rays, but they came right back to campus.

Students with ILIs are advised to take their temperature twice a day and contact the health center daily to ensure that any complications do not go unnoticed.

Vaccination

The health center is on the PA preregistration list for the H1N1 vaccine, but the vaccines have not yet arrived on campus. The expected date of arrival has been continually pushed back, first from late September to mid-October and then from mid-October to mid-November, due to a longer-than-anticipated production time.

“We will get the H1N1 vaccine, maybe not in time to avert H1N1 coming to campus because it’s here, but hopefully in time to prevent a second wave that would happen in the spring,” Kotarski said.

Kotarski strongly encourages students to get the vaccine if they do not get the virus. “The vaccine is still working to protect against it,” she said. “That’s good news.”

Manufactured vaccines have made it to pediatric centers and elementary schools. Children under the age of 18 are at a higher risk for complication than adults. College students aren’t as high on the list as children, but they are still considered at risk because of their communal living conditions.

“Yes, we’re a priority group, but like other colleges, we’re getting it based on what our needs are,” Kotarski said.

The health center offered the seasonal flu vaccine, which does nothing to combat H1N1, earlier this year. The 250 doses received by the health center ran out in twelve hours. On average, the health center administers 400-500 doses of seasonal flu shot a year.

The next shipment is expected to arrive next week, and clinics should be offered as soon as Nov. 9.

Prevention

While the health center is working to get H1N1 vaccines and more seasonal flu vaccines, Kotarski stressed that students are already equipped with the best methods of prevention.

“Students have a lot more influence than they think over the spread of this. It really is by limiting social interactions this time of year,” she said.

Students presenting with an ILI are given an information sheet advising them to remain in social isolation. “It’s really important to take yourself out of the community,” Campbell said of ill students.

“I wasn’t allowed to leave my room except to go to the bathroom, and then I had to wear a mask,” Ashley Banks ’13 said. “I wore it because I knew I wasn’t happy being sick and locked in my room, so I didn’t want anybody else to have to go through that.”

Roger Chin ’13 also followed the health center’s protocol. His roommate used meal tickets given to Chin by the health center and brought Chin food. When asked when he would go out again, he said, “I don’t want to rush it, because I don’t want to get other people sick.”

Neither Chin nor Banks got a seasonal flu vaccine, which does nothing for H1N1, stating that they don’t like or are against shots.

When asked how students are responding to being unable to attend classes, Campbell said, “There’s going to be a challenge there, but the entire community has an appreciation for what’s at stake.”

More difficult to prevent is the spread of the virus by those who do not yet know they are infected. H1N1 is highly contagious even before symptoms begin to show. “I know it’s a bummer because Halloween is coming and the parties are planned out the wazoo, but it’s probably going to be at the height of the sickness,” Kotarski said. “We’re hoping now that people are planning to decrease the amount of partying that’s going on.”

Rebecca Commito ’10, co-director of the Social Affairs Committee and senior class president, described in an e-mail the changes being made to social events in order to prevent the spread of swine flu.

“At Pub Nite we will have individually wrapped snacks for people at the event instead of communal bowls of snacks. We will also make sure that there are always enough new cups so that no one has to share cups or drink from a used cup,” she said.

Similar precautions will be taken at the Halloween party.

Kotarski and Campbell both added that activities such as alcohol consumption, stress and lack of sleep all lead to a suppressed immune system. “[Basically] anything that college students have,” she said.

“It sounds like a mother or father right now saying if you stay out late and drink, these things will suppress your body’s ability to fight off illness,” Campbell said.

Banks also noted that living on a college campus is quite conducive to the spread of germs. “I try to keep good hygiene, but I figure on a college campus there’s not a lot you can do about it,” she said.

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