By Billy S. Garland
Tonight, Sept. 22, the Student Government Association held their second Senate meeting of the year. The director of Student Health Services, Dr. Phillip F. Bressoud, filled the role of guest speaker. His speech was intended to inform the senators about the growing H1N1 epidemic, and how it is affecting the university; they should then pass this information on to their constituents. In his presentation he said that there has been one confirmation of a University of Louisville student having contracted the so-called swine flu.
“Two students were isolated, according to CDC recommendations,” said Bressoud. “One student was on campus and the other was an off-campus student. One of the cultures we sent off came back as positive for H1N1.”
The news comes after many months of concern on the part of the university. According to Bressoud, the university has been preparing for this year’s flu season since January. Working with the national Stay Well or Stay Home campaign, Student Health Services has handed out over 3,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, and is working to hand out as many cold and flu kits as possible.
Contained in a small plastic bag, the kit includes the basic supplies needed to combat the cold or flu: a personal-sized packet of tissues, iodized salt, aspirin, Ibuprofen, hand sanitizer, a personal thermometer and a pamphlet listing both cold and flu symptoms.
“All students are encouraged to go to the Web site for more information,” said Bressoud. “We also encourage everyone to get the seasonal flu shot to keep their immune system up. The better your immune system is, the less chance you will contract H1N1.”
The Web site Bressoud mentioned can be found at www.louisville.edu/update/flu. Keep an eye on our Web site over the coming week for continuing flu coverage.
