Despite swine flu spread in Va., commencement to continue as planned

May 7, 4:58 p.m. -- A University of Richmond student who had developed flu-like symptoms last week has tested negative for all strains of influenza, including H1N1, according to an e-mail from the university communications office.

The student is recovering well, and university officials continued to assure the community ahead of Saturday and Sunday's commencement ceremonies that there is no cause for alarm on campus. Normal operating hours are continuing and scheduled activities are still slated to continue as planned.

Still, university health officials are urging people involved in the ceremonies -- students, parents, faculty and staff -- to continuing observing ways to prevent the spread of flu. Additional updates will be provided at the university's alert Web site.

Fourteen cases of H1N1 flu -- popularly known as swine flu -- have been confirmed by the Virginia Department of Health, but none have required the victims to be hospitalized.

Collegian reporter Dan Petty reported this story from the University of Richmond.

____________

May 1, 10:25 p.m. -- A student is being treated at the University Student Health Center for flu-like symptoms and being tested for the H1N1 strain of influenza, also known as swine flu, according to an e-mail from Dr. Lynne Deane, medical director of the center.

Despite this development and the appearance of swine flu in Virginia, the University will continue to operate on a normal schedule, Deane said.

Deane urged students to report any cases of flu-like symptoms to the Student Health Center, which will be open Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Another Virginia college has already been effected by the H1N1 virus, said Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner, in a news release. There are two probable cases of infection at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., she said.

"Both students had mild illnesses, both are recovering well, and both were suspected early of possibly having influenza A (H1N1) and were appropriately treated," said Remley. "Neither student had traveled outside the country, but both had visited other states recently. None of the states visited were known to have confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1)."

Remley said the announcement had come out of a desire to be overly cautious, considering that local transmission may have occurred because of the appearance of two students with the virus.

____________

April 30, 9:20 p.m. -- There are now two confirmed cases of swine flu in Virginia, said Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner.

The patients, an adult male from eastern Virginia and an adult female from central Virginia, had each traveled to Mexico.

Both cases were mild and did not require hospitalization. The patients, neither one of whom are students, are recovering well.

____________

April 30, 3:30 p.m. -- The United States now has 109 confirmed cases of swine flu, according to the CDC's post at 10:30 a.m. today. Since yesterday, South Carolina has been added to the list of states affected by the virus, with 10 cases confirmed by the CDC.

The Collegian again participated in the VDH daily call-ins, where officials assured journalists that there still exists no confirmed cases of the virus in Virginia. A VDH call-in center for the general public opened today, where so far 450 calls have been received, VDH officials said.

National Public Radio reported that four students at the University of Delaware had swine flu, and schools across the nation are shutting down, per President Obama's recommendation yesterday that school officials consider temporarily closing facilities as conditions worsen. One such district is Fort Worth, Texas, the 17th-largest city in the country, which school officials announced Thursday will remain closed for the next 10 days.

VDH officials said Virginia now has 1 million courses, or five-day doses, of anti-viral medication, should the virus begin spreading in the Commonwealth. There is no vaccine for the virus yet, and creating it would take several months, VDH officials said.

Scientists still have not determined how the virus initially transfered from pigs to humans, said Dr. Mark Levine, VDH deputy commissioner for emergency preparedness and response programs.

In an e-mail, senior Claire Gahm -- whose grandfather, Dr. William Paul Glezen, is one of the country's leading flu experts -- wrote that the university had been doing well promoting prevention measures for swine flu, but she wasn't sure whether the university had the necessary tools to diagnose and treat influenza.

"The health clinic should be stocked with rapid flu tests and Tamiflu," she wrote, "which is a medication that will reduce the amount of virus in the respiratory tract so the treated person will be less likely to transmit the virus.

"Unfortunately, a virus cannot be killed in the same way as a bacteria with antibiotics, so Tamiflu only helps alleviate the symptoms. It is then up to the affected person to take the public health advisory serious: rest and stay out of public places so the virus does not continue to spread."

____________

April 29, 3:30 p.m. -- VDH has activated a call center for the general public to use should they have concerns regarding the swine flu, Mauskapf said. The telephone number is 1-877-ASK-VDH3 and operators will be available from 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow and Friday, he said.

Virginia has received 280,000 courses of anti-viral medication, including medical supplies such as masks, gloves and respirators, from the CDC, he said. VDH has also been planning for this type of outbreak since 2002, by purchasing 770,000 courses of anti-viral medication.

While there are still no confirmed cases of swine flu in Virginia, epidemiologist Dr. Diane Helentjaris said Commonwealth officials are prepared to respond should the outbreak spread. Samples are currently being sent to laboratories to test for swine flu.

Public health officials are also working arduously with officials in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, to ensure a coordinated response, Mauskaphf said.

Jeff Lake, VDH deputy commissioner for community health services, said Virginia is not yet canceling any public events, including the NASCAR event in Henrico County this weekend, where fans will be traveling from all over the country to attend.

____________

April 29, 3:05 p.m. -- Rick Mayes, associate professor of political science, writes from Cuzco, Peru, about the history of influenza and its potential public health threats:

"Every year the dominant flu strain(s) mutate a little, but not enough that the new strain(s) become particularly lethal or so different from previous strains that few people have developed any kind of immunity to them.

"Occasionally, however, the annual influenza mutation is massive and the new flu strain is both much more dangerous and new to most people's bodies. This is when influenza can become a scary pandemic. The most famous influenza pandemic occurred in 1918, when approximately 600,000 Americans died in about four to five months. The influenza strain that year killed upwards of 50 million people worldwide (maybe more) and infected about half the human population. It was horrific.

"There is a very fascinating 68-year pattern to flu pandemics. As Paul Offit notes in his book, "Vaccinated," the most important protein of influenza virus is the hemagglutinin, which attaches the virus to the cells that line people's windpipes and lungs. Our bodies' antibodies (to the hemagglutinin) prevent influenza virus from binding to cells and infecting them. But influenza virus doesn't have only one type of hemagglutinin; it has 16. These hemagglutinins change slightly every year and, again, it's that mutation that can catch us unprepared. Only three types of hemagglutinins have ever caused pandemic diseases in humans: H1, H2 and H3.

"H2 virus caused the pandemic of 1889

H3 virus caused the pandemic of 1900

H1 virus caused the pandemic of 1918

H2 virus caused the pandemic of 1957

H3 virus caused the pandemic of 1968

H1 virus caused the mini-pandemic of 1986

"In some respects, we're due for another pandemic of some severity.

"What really concerns public health officials is that influenza is both a respiratory disease and a virus. Thus, antibiotics are not very helpful in treating people with influenza, and the disease can be spread very easily: human-to-human contact can be done as easily as inhaling an infected person's exhaled breath, sneeze and so on. Respiratory diseases, such as influenza and tuberculosis, evoke the greatest fears in people because of their easier transmission -- as, say, compared to malaria or HIV/AIDS, in which people can take measures to essentially make themselves invulnerable to both diseases."

____________

April 29, 1:15 p.m. -- Steve Bisese, vice president for student development, sent an e-mail to international students and students remaining on campus after the conclusion of finals, suggesting that they find alternate housing plans in case the spread of the swine flu forces university officials to vacate the campus.

While vacating the campus is unlikely, he said, university officials must plan for all possibilities. Bisese said students who are unable to generate alternate housing plans should contact him.

Juliette Landphair, dean of Westhampton College, also issued an e-mail warning to students today, encouraging them to alter their Beach Week plans if they were planning to travel to Mexico.

According to the CDC, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has reached 91 people, including a 22-month-old child from Mexico City who died from swine flu in Texas. The virus has spread to Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan and Nevada.

____________

April 28, 5:19 p.m. -- University of Richmond health officials are urging students to report any flu-like symptoms, as a swine flu outbreak that originated in Mexico two weeks ago has now reached 64 confirmed cases in the United States.

Virginia Department of Health officials have not seen any confirmed cases of swine flu in the Commonwealth, said Bob Mauskapf, VDH director of operation, planning and logistics, during a phone conference call with reporters at 2:30 p.m. today.

But in confirmed cases, young adults have been the ones primarily affected, similar to the 1918 influenza epidemic, he said.

"This is for reasons not easily defined by science," he said, "but it might have to do with the social mobility of people from that age group."

Mauskapf was specifically referring to students who had traveled to Mexico during spring break, and warned that people who had traveled there should be most concerned.

Brian H. Eckert, director of media and public relations, said no students with flu or flu-like symptoms had been to the Student Health Center in more than three weeks, so there is almost no chance that any students, faculty or staff who visited Mexico during spring break brought swine flu back to campus, he said.

The University's Emergency Management Team met yesterday morning to review the status of the swine flu outbreak. The team comprises key university administrators and student leaders who are responsible for preparing for and responding to campus emergencies.

The biggest concern for the campus is the possibility of a pandemic spreading across the country, Eckert said. If this does occur, exam completion, commencement and summer school plans could be affected, he said.

Symptoms of swine flu resemble seasonal influenza and include fever, chills, body aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat, cough, and sometimes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To avoid transmission, CDC recommended taking standard health and hygiene precautions, including: washing hands frequently with soap and water, using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, using a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing and disposing of the tissue, and keeping hands away from eyes, nose and mouth.

Joe Boehman, dean of Richmond College, urged students in an e-mail sent today to alter their Beach Week plans if they were intending to go to Mexico, after the CDC recommended that U.S. travelers avoid all nonessential travel to the country.

According to the CDC, swine influenza, called H1N1 strain, is a common respiratory disease among pigs. Until the recent outbreak, human infections were rare and did not spread beyond three people. Humans can only contract the virus from other humans, not by eating pork or touching pigs.

Swine flu, like seasonal flu, is an air-borne disease, which spreads typically through sneezing, coughing and person-to-person contact.

U.S. health officials declared swine flu a public health emergency two days ago, when 20 cases of the virus were confirmed. The numbers doubled yesterday, and increased by 24 the following day. The cases have been identified in New York, California, Kansas, Ohio and Texas.

Diagnoses have also been made in Israel, Spain, New Zealand, Scotland and Canada.

Though none of the cases resulted in death in the United States, the outbreak caused more than 150 fatalities in Mexico, and nearly 2,000 other cases are being investigated, according to the CDC.

Dr. Lynne Deane, medical director for Student Health Services, sent an e-mail to students yesterday, urging them to contact the Student Health Center or their health care providers if they have flu-like symptoms.

"The University of Richmond is monitoring this situation and will coordinate its efforts with public health officials as necessary," she wrote.

VDH will be holding similar conference calls at the same time during the next few days, providing updates on the latest developments in Virginia. The Collegian will continue to report on this story as more information becomes available.

Dan Petty contributed reporting for this story.

Contact reporter Kimberly Leonard at kimberly.leonard@richmond.edu and staff writer Jimmy Young at jimmy.young@richmond.edu