Two U employees have been confirmed to have the H1N1 virus, otherwise known as the swine flu.
Barb Remsburg, director of Housing and Residential Education, sent an e-mail to students living on campus about the confirmation of two cases of H1N1 in members of the HRE staff. There have been no students with confirmed cases, according to HRE, she said Tuesday.
It is impossible to know how many Utahns are sick with H1N1. The Utah Department of Health is no longer tracking general cases of swine flu, only the severely ill. Almost 95 percent of flu cases in the state are swine flu, according to the department.
But Utah does have more confirmed cases than any of its neighboring states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also the only state in the intermountain region to suffer flu-attributed deaths, with the toll at six as of Tuesday.
Extreme care is being taken around the U to prevent the spread of the influenza. Staff members are disinfecting common areas and using hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer dispensers were also installed around upper campus for students to use. In addition, university officials urge students to take necessary precautions by washing hands frequently and avoiding contact with sick people.
Warning signs of the flu that require immediate medical attention include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest of abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion and severe or persistent vomiting.
Students are cautioned to call Student Health at 801-581-6431 or their physician before going to a clinic or office.
Another thing: H1N1 is NOT bacterial...it's a virus! So instead of helping reduce the proliferation H1N1 (hand sanitizer will, in fact, do NOTHING to help this besides hopefully keeping you from getting another disease simultaneously), it will only serve to create stronger strains of those bacterial diseases we may already have an immunity to and reduce the possibily that we will continue to be immune to them.