Tufts Health Service H1N1 Update

The Medford/Somerville campus has seen a significant surge in influenza-like illness (ILI) since early November. This increase is not unexpected and is typical of what many other institutions have experienced. The number of students visiting Health Service with ILI more than doubled, reaching a total of 120 last week, and is stretching our capacity to its limit. Fever, cough, body aches and headache continue to be the most prominent symptoms. Most students do feel better after three to four days.

Over the past four weeks, Health Service has been sending two routine surveillance samples each week to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; all but one of those samples have been confirmed as H1N1 positive.

At the same time, many students seem surprised when they are told that they have flu, and that it is likely H1N1. Many have been continuing to attend classes and review sessions, and even take exams while running high fevers, because they feel there is no other option. They are under the impression that if they are too sick to participate in academic requirements, they will fail their courses.

Please help us contain the spread of illness. Faculty should could make it clear to students that they should not attend class while they are running a fever; this may help limit the transmission rate of H1N1. We also ask that faculty accommodate students who are unable to take a test or turn in a paper due to illness.

We are anxiously awaiting shipments of H1N1 vaccine, but do not yet have an estimated delivery date.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the priority groups for H1N1 vaccination include pregnant women; household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age; healthcare and emergency medical services personnel; all people from 6 months through 24 years of age; and persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with a higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

The university has a particular responsibility to facilitate vaccination for our own healthcare workers and for those students on the Medford/Somerville campus for whom the University Health Service serves as primary care provider. We are already working to identify those Health Service patients whose medical conditions mean they should be vaccinated as early as possible.

We hope we will also be able to facilitate H1N1 vaccination for other members of the community who are in the priority groups. It is likely that our first deliveries of the vaccine will be limited, however. Therefore, we encourage members of the faculty and staff and graduate and professional students on the Boston and Grafton campuses who may be at high risk for medical complications to proactively consult their own primary care providers regarding their best options for H1N1 vaccination.

We will keep the community informed as to the status of vaccination efforts. More information on the flu and our preparedness efforts is available at http://emergency.tufts.edu/flu. We appreciate your patience and collaboration as we work together to keep Tufts healthy.