RADFORD -- With the beginning of the Fall semester at Radford University, RU’s Student Health Center has been preparing for the fall flu season. The H1N1 virus, a novel strain commonly known as the swine flu, could complicate matters this year.

“Our emergency management, student health, and student affairs team has been working closely with local, state and federal authorities to make sure that our university has implemented the most effective prevention and containment strategies,” said Dennie Templeton, executive director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness at Radford University.

Jeannie Seay, director of the Student Health Center, has been working with the RU Emergency Planning team to bolster supplies, craft policies and promote ways of minimizing exposure of those with either the seasonal flu or H1N1 to others.

“We want to assure our students, parents, faculty and staff that RU is in close contact with local and state health department officials as well as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),” said Seay. “With the cooperation and good judgment of all, we hope to educate students about prevention strategies and staying well.”

While seasonal flu usually doesn’t hit Virginia full swing until late in the year or in January, Seay and other RU officials are readying themselves now should H1N1 be identified as the school year proceeds. To foster prevention by encouraging good hygiene habits, RU’s dining service provider, Chartwell’s, has installed six new hand sanitizer stations in the dining and food court areas and will be adding more. RU is a registered vaccination provider and will provide H1N1 vaccines as they become available, in addition to holding its seasonal flu clinics at which vaccines for the seasonal flu are administered.

Seay recommends the following everyday actions to help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses such as influenza:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands. Throw used tissues in the waste basket.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. Carry these with you and use often.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you have influenza symptoms, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
• If you are sick, stay home until 24 hours after a fever is gone without a fever-reducing medication.

“As students and families prepare for the semester, it is advisable that each student have a thermometer with which they can take their own temperature, a supply of fever-reducing medications, like Tylenol, and disinfectant wipes,” said Seay.

According to Seay, the signs and symptoms of H1N1 flu are similar to those of regular flu: fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. She urges any students who show such symptoms to visit the RU Student Health home page for guidance and self-care instructions. Seay also points out that anyone who shows the following severe symptoms should immediately seek medical care or call 911:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

Protecting the health and safety of the RU community is the paramount mission of the SHC, and Seay pointed out several other actions are being taken across the university to prevent the spread of the flu:

• A series of seasonal influenza clinics will be presented beginning in October.
• H1N1 vaccine clinics will be established when vaccine becomes available from the federal government.
• A campus-wide flu prevention education campaign including SHC outreach, distribution of posters and signs, and an expanded SHC web presence with the latest flu information and guidance for self-care and a swift recovery.
• Expanded distribution of alcohol-based hand sanitizers throughout the campus.
• Interdepartmental planning and activities with the Office of Emergency Planning, Dean of Students Office, Residential Life, and other campus offices to prevent and contain spread of the flu.

RU’s Office of Emergency Preparedness website is another university source of information on the campus flu situation.  For more general flu information about both the seasonal and H1N1 viruses, the CDC website is recommended. The CDC also has a telephone hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO or 1-800-232-4636.