Doctors suspect swine flu has reached campus, but University officials said there are no plans to close the school in response to the possible outbreak.
“The feeling at this point is that the virus is in our community and by closing the school we’re not going to be able to prevent it from spreading,” University spokesman Phil Weiler said Saturday.
Eugene’s first suspected case of the H1N1 virus was found Friday in an elementary school-aged student who attends the University’s Moss Street Children’s Center. The child is also a student at Harris-Eastside Elementary School, Weiler said, and had been home sick since April 27. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is working to confirm that the child’s illness is in fact swine flu.
A suspected case H1N1 in a Western Oregon University student led the Monmouth school to shut its doors Friday and Monday. However, Weiler said, the University of Oregon has no plans to do the same, or to close its child care centers.
“The protections that could be garnered from the closure do not outweigh the potential impacts on parents and families,” Weiler said.
The Moss Street center is funded through the EMU and provides child care to University students and area families. It also employs University students as aides and childcare supervisors.
Media outlets are reporting 14 suspected cases in Oregon, including five in Lane County, although none are yet confirmed.
The spread of the virus began in Mexico, where it is suspected existing flu strains mutated to form a new strain of the virus. Because it is a new strain, humans have not yet developed an immunity. It is not yet clear how lethal the virus is.
“In countries other than Mexico, it does not appear to be different from the typical, garden-variety flu,” Weiler said.
Health officials advise keeping clean and avoiding those with the flu as preventative measures.
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Suspected swine flu case at University child center
Daily Emerald
May 3, 2009
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