August 27, 2009
H1N1 Influenza Update

TO: UNC Asheville, Students Faculty and Staff
FROM: Jay Cutspec, Director of Student Health and Counseling

With the fall semester now underway, UNC Asheville officials continue to monitor the H1N1 influenza virus (swine flu) through collaboration with the Buncombe County Health Center, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and UNC General Administration.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has made specific recommendations that those with the flu or flu like symptoms stay home least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).

While the H1N1 influenza appears to be mild in otherwise healthy people, it can spread easily from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to prevent the spread of flu at UNC Asheville for as long as possible, but we need your help.

• All students with flu-like symptoms should contact Health Services at 828/251-6520.
   

• Faculty and staff members with flu-like symptoms as described above should stay home until at least 24 hours after the fever has subsided. In order to track the severity of flu symptoms on campus, supervisors and department chairs will be asked to report to Health Services the incidence and duration of all absences that occur as a result of flu-like illnesses. More specific information about reporting responsibilities will be shared with supervisors and department chairs in the days to come.
   

• Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also are effective.
   

• Practice respiratory etiquette by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.
   

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth; germs are spread this way.
   

• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu, which include a fever, cough and/or sore throat. A fever is a temperature taken with a thermometer that is equal to or greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. Other possible signs of fever are flushed appearance, sweating or shivering.  

You may also want to talk to your health care provider about vaccinations.

• The Buncombe Health Center will be the source of the H1N1 influenza vaccine for our campus. We expect to be able to make it available to students, faculty and staff ages 24 and younger or in high risk categories for free later this fall. To see the Centers for Disease Control's list of those who should be vaccinated, click on http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm.
   

• In addition, Health Services will also again offer the routine seasonal influenza vaccine to all students beginning in October for
   a small fee. Faculty and staff may receive a seasonal flu shot from their health care provider or through campus flu shot
   clinics hosted by Blue Cross-Blue Shield of North Carolina this fall.

We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available to us. In the meantime, if you have questions, call UNC Asheville's Health Services at 828/251-6520 or click on http://www.unca.edu/news/flu.html.

Additional information about H1N1 influenza on college campuses is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/.