JULY 16, 2009 ISSUE
ASU Confirms Positive Test Results for H1N1 Virus
Several campers attending Camp Broadstone, an outdoor education center run by ASU, were confirmed today as having the virus H1N1—commonly referred to as “swine flu”—according to university officials. Ten campers and one counselor reported flu-like systems at the end of last week and the university’s student health service sent samples to the state health department in Raleigh on Friday, July 17. The university was informed on Wednesday, July 15, that seven of the samples tested positive for H1N1.
A university spokesperson said those students tested for the virus went home and there are no remaining campers exhibiting flu-like symptoms at Camp Broadstone.
None of the campers who tested positive for the virus are from Watauga County.
“Our camp staff has either phoned or sent home information to all parents who have a child at the camp alerting them to the situation,” said Lynn Drury, associate vice chancellor for university communications. “Going forward, we will follow Appalachian’s Infectious Illness Control Plan and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s Guidelines for Residential and Day Camps, which means all students attending camps at either Camp Broadstone or on Appalachian’s campus will be interviewed upon arrival and monitored throughout their stay for any symptoms.”
Drury said the CDC recommends anyone having symptoms should be sent home as soon as possible and isolated for seven days after symptoms begin, or until symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer.
“We are telling parents that if their child has any flu-like symptoms in the seven days prior to camp beginning they should not bring them to camp,” Drury said. “We will be asking each parent and child when they arrive to confirm there have been no symptoms such as a fever in the past seven days. If there has been, we will not be able to register the child and they will have to return home.”
Contrary to earlier concerns about the H1N1 virus, the CDC reports that the mortality rate has been no higher than for the common Type A and Type B viruses, and has a death rate of about .5 percent. The majority of the deaths occur in people who have an underlying condition such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.
Currently, every state in the United States has confirmed cases of H1N1 and the CDC last week said that a total of 37,246 cases of confirmed H1N1 have occurred in the country since the initial identification of the virus. There have been 311 confirmed cases in North Carolina and two deaths. Unlike other flu viruses, however, H1N1 has occurred mostly frequently in a much younger age group—16 to 24 years of age.
Symptoms of the virus include fever and coughing, sore throat, headache, fatigue, chills, congestion or stuffy nose, nausea/vomiting and body aches. Anyone exhibiting such symptoms is encouraged to see their primary care physician. The CDC notes that the majority of cases do not requirement treatment but that the individual should be isolated in order to prevent spreading the virus.
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