UW-Madison responds to influenza

Like colleges and universities across the country, UW-Madison officials are responding to students becoming ill with symptoms characteristic of H1N1 influenza.

As of Sept. 1, University Health Services (UHS) began seeing a marked increase in patients with flu-like symptoms (including fever greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and either cough or sore throat). Preliminary results from surveillance cultures performed at UHS through the first week of classes indicate that 90 percent of these patients tested positive for H1N1.

“This is what we’ve been preparing for,” says Sarah Van Orman, executive director of UHS. “This is also what many other schools around the country are experiencing, and this is why every member of the campus community has received at least one message about influenza precautions and preparedness in the past week.

“We have established that flu season starts now, not a few months from now,” she adds.

In addition to fine-tuning its own influenza planning, the university is responding to questions from parents and students, seeing large numbers of patients at the UHS clinic, and engaging in direct communication with numerous segments of the campus population, including faculty and staff (see sidebar).

Campus operational units have all received guidance on cleaning recommendations during an outbreak, a guide to academic expectations and human resources guidelines for employees. If student illness is reported in a particular unit, UHS is available to provide any additional information that is helpful.

Because the emergence of an influenza pandemic had been predicted for some time, a UW–Madison committee has been at work for the past several years, creating and refining plans for dealing with such a possibility.

The Campus Health Issues Planning (CHIPs) group, chaired by Van Orman, has coordinated planning that has touched nearly every corner of campus, ranging from how to maintain critical research projects to how classes might be held via distance-learning technology in certain situations.

Participants have included representatives from UHS, University Housing, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Human Resources, the Division of Enrollment Management, University Communications and the University Police Department, among numerous other campus partners.

“As a community, we must do everything in our power to protect the health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and visitors while we maintain our campus missions of teaching, learning and research by limiting the spread of disease,” wrote Chancellor Biddy Martin in an Aug. 27 e-mail message to campus.

When H1N1 (or “swine flu”) first emerged in the U.S. in late spring, there was little disruption to normal campus operations. Given the CDC’s projections about a potential fall re-emergence, the university prepared for the possibility that influenza may spread widely enough to disrupt business as usual.

To coordinate information and operations, campus officials are working with the state of Wisconsin, the Department of Health Services, Dane County-Madison Public Health, UW System and other affiliates, such as UW Hospital and Clinics and UW-Extension and Colleges.

Faculty and staff are reminded that seasonal influenza vaccine will become available by late September from local health care providers and clinics, and in November for faculty and staff on campus.

All members of the campus community are encouraged to be vaccinated. Plans are in place to provide H1N1 vaccine to target groups (generally health care workers, those who are pregnant or with high-risk conditions, or those under 25) when it becomes available later this fall.

“H1N1 vaccination of our students under the age of 25 will be critical once the vaccine becomes available,” says Van Orman. “All campus community members should receive a vaccine for seasonal influenza as well.”