Influenza spreads on USD campus
In the past year, there have been 647 confirmed cases of the H3N2 virus in South Dakota, 16 of which have resulted in death according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
Vermillion Sanford Health Clinic physician assistant Melissa Shefl said the clinic has experienced an increased inflow of patients reporting flu-like symptoms, a trend she which matches the 6,191 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations in the United States since Oct. 1, 2012.
“It is difficult to accurately gauge the amount of people in the area contaminated with the flu virus,” Shefl said. “But, it is safe to say that the area is experiencing an equally severe flu-season, in comparison to reports being made around the country.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, all states except Maine are reporting prevalent influenza activity, with 26 states showing high levels of flu cases.
The jump in the virus began in late November and has carried well into 2013.
Assistant professor of basic biomedical sciences Victor Huber specializes in research of vaccines and the influenza virus.
Huber’s current line of research surveys a certain protein inside the virus and studying the specific changes that increase the virus’ severity in the secondary stages.
While the severity of the H3N2 virus has blossomed during the 2012-13, Huber said basic techniques used to reduce the spread of bacteria are just as effective.
“Those basic techniques we were all taught as kids are still 60 to 80 percent as effective,” Huber said. “This form of the flu being circulated is similar to that given out in vaccines, so as always getting a vaccine is crucial in a setting such as a college campus.”
Huber said on university campuses, the most common form of contamination is from droplets by those carrying the virus.
USD students and faculty are doing all they can to slow the spread of the viruses, while protecting themselves from contamination.
Sophomore Marysa Basham made sure to get her flu vaccination in October 2012.
“I still make sure I wash my hands whenever necessary to make sure I don’t catch anything,” Basham said.
Shefl said she and her colleagues are unsure how long this influenza cycle may last, but encourage students and faculty to be wary during the heightened season.
“Slowing down the spread of the virus is as simple as washing hands, washing surfaces or coughing into shoulders,” Shefl said. “And if a student has a fever, just stay home for the day. If they are going out, wear a mask to protect spreading it to others.”
Doctor’s notes are provided to students suffering from server flu-symptoms, but are otherwise not promised by a mere visit to the clinic said Shefl.
Basham said while some faculty allow students to miss a certain number of days before being a grade reduction is made, more strict policies could be loosened during the influx of flu cases.
“If students can still prove that they were sick, I think professors should understand and relax their absence policy,” Basham said.
With peaks in flu seasons ranging from year to year, there is no way of saying when the end of the epidemic will arrive.
For the time being, the Sanford Clinic will be holding a lobby flu shot day Jan. 31 from 4 to 6 p.m.; vaccinations are also given out by
