September 9, 2009

To: The Roosevelt University Community

From: James Gandre, Provost and Executive Vice President

As you have heard in the media, the Centers for Disease Control expect the H1N1 influenza flu will arrive on college campuses across the country this fall.

With this in mind, it is very important that you take precautions to help stop the spread of this illness. To help stop the spread of the flu, I want to remind you again of a number of precautions you can take:

• Get a regular flu shot. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the best way to avoid getting the flu is to geta flu shot every year.
• Get a H1N1 flu shot. Roosevelt University is currently on the list to receive this vaccine. We do not have information if it will be available to us, but as we learn more we will inform you.
  
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
  
• Frequently wash your hands with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners and the hand sanitizers throughout campus are also effective.
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, as germs spread more easily that way.
  
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you get sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
  
• Purchase a thermometer so you can take your temperature.
  
• Have at least one week's worth of food in your room or home in case you are sick and cannot leave.

Symptoms of the H1N1 virus are similar to seasonal influenza and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting.

If you think you have the flu:

• Contact your doctor.
• Stay home and limit interaction with other people (self-isolate), except to seek medical care.
• Do not return to campus or class for at least 24 hours after being fever-free (when not using a fever-reducing medicine).
• Promptly seek medical attention if you have a medical condition that puts you at increased risk of severe illness from flu, are concerned about your illness, or develop severe symptoms, such as increased fever, shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, or rapid breathing.

In addition to the above, we are advising students who are ill with the flu to:

• Contact their professors and in the case of residential students, their RA.
• Contact the Office of Student Services.
• Return home via private transportation, if possible.

For more information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/general_info.htm .

Dedicated to the enlightenment of the human spirit Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt