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BY HANNA KOZLOWSKA

In print | Published September 17, 2009 — Updated September 24, 2009 09:18

Despite numerous reported cases of swine flu in Pennsylvania colleges, Swarthmore’s campus still remains free of the virus.

“We’re in a very good position,” said Garikai Campbell, acting Dean of Students.

According to the American College Health Association’s Pandemic Influenza Surveillance, there have been 572 influenza-like illnesses in Pennsylvania colleges in the period from August 22 to September 4. The World Health Organization reports that there have been 277,607 cases of swine flu around the world and 3,205 deaths as of September 15.

Beth Kotarski, Director of Student Health Services, said that there are confirmed cases at area colleges including Villanova University, St. Joseph’s University and La Salle University. All of them have been mild.

The college has taken many precautions to prevent a widespread outbreak. However, as Kotarski said, Swarthmore students are as vulnerable to the virus as anyone else.

Swine flu or Novel influenza A (H1N1) is a virus that spreads through any kind of contact with an infected person who is coughing or sneezing, or even from touching contaminated surfaces. According to the World Health Organization, symptoms include fever, coughing, headache, sore throat, runny nose, muscle and joint pain, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.

In the most severe cases it can be fatal, but death is usually caused by another additional infection. Both the symptoms and the means of spreading are the same as those of a regular, seasonal flu. The difference between the two viruses is that humans have not yet developed immunity to the new strain of the H1N1 virus. However, most cases can be cured by seasonal flu remedies.

In the meantime, Swarthmore students are wary of an impending H1N1 outbreak. “We have several students a day coming in with concerns about their health,” Kotarski said.

Amira Silver-Swartz ’12 felt sick a few days ago and quickly was concerned about H1N1. However, she was more worried about catching the flu in general, “swine or no swine.” She is feeling better now.

Should anyone get infected, the college is equipped to reduce the possibility of an campus-wide outbreak.

“We have Tamiflu [antiviral drug], masks, everything that CDC recommends. We’re in constant contact with state and local agencies,” Campbell said.

The college will have seasonal flu vaccines, which do not necessarily protect from the swine flu strain, as well as H1N1 vaccines when they become available in about a month. Both will be offered to students with a high risk of getting infected due to other health conditions, such as asthma and diabetes, before becoming available to the rest of the college community.

Swarthmore is also cooperating with Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Villanova to create plans to handle student swine flu cases.

“The area colleges share information about what they experience on their individual campuses,” Kotarski said. “We also talk about unifying our policies so that we all try to follow the same guidelines — mainly set forth by ACHA and the CDC.”

Dean Campbell emphasizes the importance of the safety tips the college has put forth for the students to follow.

“We’re hoping the students will take our tips seriously,” he said. “These fairly simple precautions can minimize the impact of the virus”.

There have been rumors about swine flu cases around campus, but most of them only signify an esclated fear of how quickly H1N1 could spread.

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