At this time, there are no "confirmed" or "probable" Dartmouth student cases of H1N1 Influenza (swine flu). Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said earlier today that H1N1 Influenza is no more dangerous than the regular flu virus. "What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain of H1N1 is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu — how sick you get — is not stronger than regular seasonal flu," she said.
According to the CDC, concern for influenza is greatest in individuals who have fever (temperature over 100 degrees) AND either cough, sore throat, or runny nose.
If you have these symptoms or other symptoms for which you would usually seek medical care, I would encourage you to contact your primary care provider. For Dartmouth students, please call the Dartmouth College Health Service at 646-9401 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) or 646-9440 (after hours and weekends). Now that it appears that the H1N1 strain of influenza does not cause severe illness, it is not as necessary to differentiate the treatment of this influenza strain from other seasonal influenza strains.
As always, important measures to help control the spread of influenza include
I want to thank those of you who have followed recommendations and taken appropriate precautions. Your increased awareness has prevented the occurrence of a much bigger problem. We should continue to incorporate good hygiene habits in our daily lives in order to prevent contracting and spreading viruses now and in future outbreaks.
Unless there are significant changes in the New Hampshire or CDC guidelines for dealing with influenza, or if there is a change in the situation here in Hanover, I will not issue daily updates, but will provide more information if the situation warrants.
I urge members of the community to stay abreast of developments at Dartmouth and elsewhere through the following web sites:
