There are 49 CU students who have now tested positive for Type A Influenza, according to the CU News Center. Those 49 are out of a total of 135 students who have received the Type A Influenza test at Wardenburg Student Health Center.
Type A Influenza is not the H1N1 virus, but rather the H1N1 virus is a form of Type A Influenza. Tests specific to H1N1 are not offered at CU, but according to Bronson Hilliard, director of media relations, the administration does see those who test positive for Type A as having a high probability of carrying H1N1.
“We’re treating each of these cases as if they were H1N1,” Hilliard said.
Hilliard has confirmed that those individuals who have tested positive for Type A Influenza have come from various different living situations. Some of them reside off-campus, some in sorority and fraternity houses and others in the dorms.
He says the idea that there are any particular locations to avoid in order to prevent coming down with H1N1 is a misconception.
“There’s no one place that’s spreading this more than any other place…the virus is out there everywhere,” Hilliard said.
Some members of a CU fraternity house are amongst the 135 students who were tested for Type A Influenza at Wardenburg, but none of those fraternity members tested positive for the virus.
Marc Stine, Greek advocate for CU Boulder, says CU-Boulder fraternity houses are not taking precautions against H1N1 that are in any way different to those advised by Wardenburg to the rest of the community.
He explained that in terms of communal living, residents of fraternity houses are in no more danger of catching the virus than students who live in the dorms or frequent communal areas in their apartment buildings.
“It’s the same kind of situation,” Stine said. “There’s nothing different that needs to be done.”
Wardenburg officials are advising students to be fastidious in keeping any communal areas they come into contact with clean, covering their nose and mouth whenever coughing and sneezing and remembering to frequently wash their hands in order to avoid becoming ill.
Hilliard says that should students begin to experience flu-like symptoms, their first course of action should not necessarily be to visit Wardenburg. Individuals should only go to the student health center if they have conditions that make them more susceptible to H1N1, or if symptoms they have been experiencing have worsened in any way.
Those who are concerned about a cough or a fever are recommended to call Wardenburg so they can speak with a nurse about their condition before visiting the health center. The nurse can then determine whether or not a trip to the hospital is actually necessary.
Hilliard said he would like to emphasize that the administration will not, and has never intended to, quarantine anybody who becomes ill with H1N1.
“This needs to be stressed so much,” Hilliard said. “We are not quarantining students and there’s no plans to quarantine students.”
He said the university does not have the means to quarantine students and that such measures are not necessary. Students should be able to remain healthy simply by following the recommendations that have been provided by Wardenburg.
Wardenburg’s recommendations can be found at their Web site by visiting:
http://www.colorado.edu/healthcenter/
Wardenburg triage nurses can be reached at:
(303) 492-3435
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sara Morrey at Sara.morrey@colorado.edu
