H1N1 Flu Virus Information
Gordon College officials continue to monitor the campus for any cases of H1NI influenza. We have no reports of faculty, staff or students having the flu. We are prepared to respond to any cases by following the protocols set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and the school’s emergency response plan.
The current strain of H1N1 causes symptoms that are often similar but no worse than seasonal flu. Those include fever above 100 degrees, along with a cough and/or sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, body aches, chills and fatigue. Some sufferers also have reported nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
We ask any students who develop flu symptoms to immediately contact their personal physician or report to the Health Center in Gordon Hall. Faculty and staff who are not feeling well should stay home and contact their personal physician.
Students, staff and faculty should take the following simple precautions to help prevent the spread of the flu and any other infectious disease:
- Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and throw the used tissue in the trash. If you have to cough, try to cough into the bend of your arm, not into your hand.
- *Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Use alcohol-based hand cleaners as needed.
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- Avoid touching or rubbing the eyes, nose or mouth to limit the spread of germs.
- Anyone who develops the flu symptoms should immediately contact his/her health care provider and stay home from work or school for at least 24 hours after the fever subsides. If you are a resident student and can go to your permanent home to recover, we ask you to consider doing so.
- * People with the flu symptoms should avoid contact with others as much as possible.
For more information about frequently asked questions about H1N1, visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm