University prepares for possible H1N1 outbreak

Ho-fung Hung is no stranger to epidemics.

For the assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, the threat of H1N1 brings back memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak.

Hung was finishing his dissertation at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology when the government shut down the university two months into the semester. All classes went online.

Although H1N1 is less serious than SARS at this point, IU is preparing for the worst.
Before the start of school, Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson sent out guidelines to faculty, urging them to prepare for an onset of the H1N1 virus.

Hanson recommended that faculty learn how to conduct classes online and consider loosening rules for attendance and extensions, such as not requiring proof of illness or not enforcing penalties.

“To limit the spread of any highly communicable disease, it is very important that individuals with the flu stay away from classes, labs and other gatherings and that they do not go to crowded locations like health services and physicians’ offices solely to obtain documentation of illness,” Hanson wrote in a memo to faculty.

There were about five confirmed laboratory cases of swine flu on campus last spring, said Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suspended lab testing to determine H1N1 and advised that anyone experiencing flu symptoms be considered to have H1N1 and be treated accordingly.

Last week, the University reported two probable cases of H1N1, but they haven’t been confirmed.

The IU Health Center said it isn’t positive about the exact number of cases since it isn’t allowed to conduct tests to confirm that it is H1N1.

Purdue reported 47 likely cases already this year, a trend displayed by colleges from coast to coast.  

According to the CDC, the virus tends to spread more quickly among young adults who have not built an immunity to flu strains.

The close living quarters at schools also make colleges prime breeding grounds for the strain.  

David Zaret, senior advisor for the Office of the Provost, said Hanson’s guidelines for faculty follow recommendations from the CDC. Although Hanson suggested faculty relax attendance policies, the decision falls in the hands of each individual faculty member, Zaret said.

“The provost sent out a guideline, but it does not set a new rule,” he said.  

Zaret also said the provost worked with the University Information Technology Services to ensure they had the capability to support the system if all classes moved online.  

Lessie Jo Frazier, a gender studies assistant professor, addressed swine flu on the first day of class.

She allows students four grace days in a semester, but said she is willing to work with students who have exceeded that amount if they get the flu.  

“I’ll take attendance, but I’ll also look at patterns,” Frazier said. “If this happens constantly to the same person, I’ll say you need to talk to a physician.”

She is also prepared to take more extreme measures.  

“If I see low attendance several days in a row, I’m going to start calling people, and there’s a good chance the class will go online for a little bit,” she said.  

Hung said his attendance policy will undergo no changes at the current time, but he is prepared to take action if an outbreak occurs.

He credited the University for being alert, and quoted a phrase heard repeatedly during the SARS outbreak: “It’s better to err on the side of caution.”

Students have expressed surprise at the seriousness with which faculty are treating the H1N1 virus during the first week of classes.  

“I didn’t know swine flu was as big of a deal as all the teachers are making it, and that they’re ready for students to stay home at the slightest inclination that there might be an outbreak,” junior Therese Schmidt said. “Almost all my classes have brought it up.”

Frazier gave credit to the provost for her actions and said even if people view the contingency planning as extreme, it is beneficial.

“I think the work we’re doing now for the H1N1 virus will be useful for all kinds of other situations that come about,” she said.