With the arrival of more than 21,000 students at the University of Memphis this fall, we, like other campuses across the nation, have seen a few students reporting H1N1 influenza or flu-like illnesses.  We want students and parents to know that the University is monitoring this situation very closely, and we are taking precautions to minimize the spread of the H1N1 virus and to protect students, faculty, and staff from the disease.

However, if other U of M students do become sick, especially with flu-like symptoms, they should notify all their instructors as soon as possible.  Students should also self-isolate and take care of themselves, then wait 24 hours after their fever is gone (in the absence of fever-reducing medications) before returning to class.  Because the self-isolation period should be 3-5 days for the H1N1 flu, most students will be able to make up the work they have missed.

If symptoms are severe, students should go to Student Health Services or their private physicians.  If students become severely ill when Student Health Services is closed, area clinics are available to provide treatment.

All faculty members have been advised by the Office of the Provost to take into account the presence of H1N1, to discourage class attendance by any student experiencing flu-like symptoms, and to make alternatives available to students who must miss class due to illness.  Students who are free of flu-like symptoms should go to class in accordance with the class syllabus and schedule. 

If a student believes an instructor is not being reasonable about the student’s illness-related absence, the student should contact the Provost’s office with that information.  Such reports may be made by phone to 901-678-2119 or by email to aharbor@memphis.edu

Thus far, the number of cases reported by the U of M’s Student Health Services is less than two dozen.  To ensure that number remains as small as possible, we are asking the entire campus community to follow very closely and faithfully health officials’ recommendations for prevention of the spread of the flu as well as other transmittable diseases.  Those simple, yet effective, recommendations can be found online at www.memphis.edu/swineflu.htm

Student Health Service’s blog – www.uofmshs.typepad.com  – already carries recommendations for protecting yourself from the flu.  Student Health Services will also use Twitter to send up-to-the-minute messages regarding the H1N1 flu; the Twitter URL is www.twitter.com/uofmshs

If you have specific questions not answered in this letter, please contact the University’s Student Health Services by phone at 901-678-2287, or visit the SHS Web site, http://saweb.memphis.edu/health