News Release

Swine flu update

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Notice on the Health Services door advising students to don a facemask and leave the building if they believe they have swine flu or have been exposed to swine flu.

Updated 4:35 p.m. CDT

St. Cloud State students who have flu symptoms and believe they may have been exposed to the swine flu virus (H1N1 novel influenza) should telephone their physician or telephone campus Health Services at 320-308-3193.

Students should not go to Health Services, said Dr. Brent Nielsen, director of medical services.

Health Services staff members will do an over-the-phone evaluation and tell the caller how and where to be examined, Nielsen said.

• Read the advisory letter from Health Services (PDF). 
• View the Health Services clinic notice (PDF).

One person has been infected in Stearns County and nine probable cases are under investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, according to Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) officials.

To limit the spread of the virus, health officials are isolating infected persons.

There are no cases at St. Cloud State. As a safety measure, university officials have canceled a May 10 study-abroad trip to Mexico.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Human-to-human infections of swine flu, such as this, are rare, according to a federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) press release.

Learn more:

• CDC swine flu Web site
• MDH swine flu Web site
  
• CDC interim recommendations for facemask use
• Google maps tracking the outbreak 
• International Association of Emergency Managers map of cases on college campuses 

• USDA swine flu FAQ
• CDC on Twitter
• HHS communicator Andrew Wilson on Twitter
• CDC swine flu widget, which can be freely copied to Web sites

Visit St. Cloud State's Pandemic Planning Web site.

Minnesota Department of Health officials remind the public to observe routine public health recommendations for preventing the spread of flu:

• Stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick to help prevent others from catching your illness
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  
• When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting your illness
• Wash your hands often to protect yourself from germ
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth to limit the spread of germs
  
• Keep yourself resistant to disease by getting plenty of sleep, staying physically active, managing stress, drinking plenty of fluids and eating nutritious food

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