H1N1 University Awareness

What you need to know about H1N1

Health organizations, government agencies and media outlets are giving considerable attention to the possibility of a widespread outbreak of the flu virus, including H1N1, this fall and winter. The following is information of importance for the NLU community and we urge you to take a few minutes to read through the material on this Web site.

In accordance with remarks made by Interim President George Litman at NLU Connection 2009, NLU’s policy on H1N1 will be the following:

1. NLU will follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for this strain of flu. Please go to http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ for detailed information.
2. NLU will seek additional guidance as appropriate from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
3. NLU will remain open. The university will work with local and state public health officials to monitor the severity and extent of flu-like symptoms and to guide its response should flu conditions become more severe.
4. Faculty are asked to communicate their policies on absences to their students at the beginning of the term. NLU students are encouraged to ask their instructors about these policies as classes begin.
5. Administrative offices are also being asked to develop contingency plans to handle the workload of any employees who may become infected with the flu virus.
6. Everyone in the NLU community is encouraged to take prudent and appropriate steps to discourage the spread of any infectious disease. These would include but are not limited to frequent hand washing, covering your nose and mouth with a clean, disposable tissue when coughing or sneezing, and coughing or sneezing into your elbow or shoulder (not into your hands) if you don’t have a tissue.

All NLU students, faculty and administrative staff

Please note the following from the CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Higher Education during the 2009-2010 Academic Year. Although the CDC notes that this is “a menu of tools” and that how any university approaches an outbreak of H1N1 will depend on the specific conditions they face (location, size, community mobility), the following should be noted:

Based on the severity of 2009 H1N1 flu-related illness thus far, this guidance…recommends that students, faculty, and staff with flu-like illness remain home until 24 hours after resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

People at high risk for flu complications who become ill with flu-like illness should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible. Early treatment with antiviral medications often can prevent hospitalizations and deaths. Groups that are at higher risk of complications from flu if they get sick include: children younger than age 5; people age 65 or older; children and adolescents (younger than age 18) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye’s syndrome after flu virus infection; pregnant women; adults and children who have asthma, other chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders such as diabetes; and adults and children with immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by HIV). People age 65 and older, however, appear to be at lower risk of 2009 H1N1 infection compared to younger people. But, if older adults do get sick from flu, they are at increased risk of having a severe illness.