The University Emergency Management team is preparing for the possibility of a swine flu outbreak or even pandemic in Oregon, Dr. Tom Ryan said Monday.
The flu has killed about 149 people so far in Mexico, where it broke out this year, and non-fatal cases have been reported in four other countries. In the United States it has infected people in New York, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and California.
It has not appeared in the Northwest, but seven cases have been reported in California.
Ryan said the University Pandemic Planning Group, Travel Safety Group and Campus Incident Management Team have already held teleconferences with other schools in the area and hosted meetings with students, administration and health workers on campus.
“The University is already geared up,” he said.
Ryan advised students to stay healthy by washing their hands and avoiding sick people.
Twenty University students currently in Mexico are of special concern to Ryan. In New York City, which Ryan says has the highest number of cases in the U.S., “It started with nine students who went to Mexico,” Ryan said. “Now there are 28 cases.”
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