Weekly Influenza UpdateNovember 6, 2009

To: The Gustavus Community
From: The Gustavus Pandemic Advisory Committee

Greetings,

As reported in the Star Tribune yesterday, it appears as though H1N1 may have peaked in Minnesota. There is no way to predict with certainty the virus activity in upcoming weeks, but we do know that school absences decreased 50 percent and hospitalizations decreased 20 percent in the past week. Here at Gustavus, we continue to see a similar trend. In the past week Gustavus has received only 12 online symptom reports of influenza-like illness (ILI).

H1N1 vaccine availability

Gustavus Health Service continues to work closely with the Minnesota Department of Health to monitor H1N1 vaccine availability. We do not have a projected date of arrival at this time.

Influenza Satellite Clinic

Due to the decrease in ILI on campus, we will suspend staffing in the Influenza Satellite Clinic starting Thursday, November 12, 2009. Any student with influenza-like symptoms can be seen on a walk-in basis at the Gustavus Health Service.

We remind you to visit the Gustavus H1N1 website for access to previous weekly updates, online symptom and recovery report forms, online meal requests, and to access additional links with specific and general information about influenza.

Thank you for your attention to this important public health issue.

Sincerely,

Pandemic Advisory Committee Co-Chairs
Heather Dale, Director of Health Service and
Ray Thrower, Director of Campus Safety