Swine Flu Guide  Tags: swine_flu pandemic h1n1 influenza  

The Tulane Flu Emergency Task Force team consists of faculty from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and the School of Medicine; medical staff from Tulane University Hospital and Clinic; and representatives from the Dean’s Office, the Office of Emergency Response, and University Public Relations; lead by Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, professor and chair of the department of Environmental Health Sciences

Dear students, faculty, staff and parents:

Like many universities across the country, at Tulane we have a number of community members with flu-like illnesses.   Thus far, we have seen this influenza to be a very mild illness with symptoms milder than the regular seasonal flu. To date, none of these cases have been confirmed as H1N1 flu. 

The Student Health Center, the Tulane Flu Task Force and other departments are monitoring the number of cases daily and continue to provide information on flu prevention.   Tulane is following recommended procedures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

Here is what you can do to help keep yourself and our community healthy:

• Practice good personal hygiene by washing your hands with soap and warm water.
• Practice good respiratory etiquette by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.  Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; germs are spread this way.
• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Look for possible signs of fever: if the person feels very warm, has a flushed appearance, or is sweating or shivering.
• Stay home if you have flu or a flu-like illness for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or signs of a fever.  Don’t go to class or work. 
• Faculty and staff should contact their health care provider if they have the flu or flu-like symptoms. 
• Students should call the Student Health Center at 504-862-8121 Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 BEFORE coming to the center to seek treatment. After normal operating hours, students should contact the on-call physician at 504-889-3352 .

 
For more information about flu prevention and care, and what Tulane is doing, visit

• The Student Health Center Flu Website: http://tulane.edu/health/wellness/fluinfo.cfm
• The Tulane Flu Task Force:  http://www.sph.tulane.edu/flu/
• Flu FAQs for Students: http://tulane.edu/health/wellness/upload/H1N1-FAQ.pdf
• Flu FAQs for Employees: http://www.tulane.edu/~wfmo/forms/H1N1FLUFAQforEmployees.pdf

Anne P. Banos,                                                                                
Chief of Staff and Vice President             

Greg Southworth, PE
Director, Office of Emergency Response

Swine Influenza and MICROMEDEX

In response to the recent outbreak of Swine Influenza (H1N1), the MICROMEDEX drug, disease, and patient education content to reflects the most recent CDC guidelines published on 4/27/09 and will be updated accordingly as the CDC is continuing to make revisions to recommendations regarding the management of swine influenza. 

Drug Information (DRUGDEX® and DrugPoints™)
The following drug monographs are updated (4-30-2009):

• Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) – recommended therapy for swine influenza
• Zanamivir (Relenza ) – recommended therapy for swine influenza
• Amantadine (Symmetrel ) – swine influenza is resistant to this  treatment; content has been updated with this recommendation from the CDC
• Rimantadine (Flumadine) – swine influenza is resistant to this treatment; content has been updated with this recommendation from the CDC

To access these documents in Healthcare Series, just search for “swine.”

John M. Barry, a visiting scholar at the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, is the author of The Great Influenza. He wrote "Move quickly to create a flu vaccine" for The New York Times, also published in the Times Picayune (New Orleans).

... the gap between the time the virus was first recognized and a second, more dangerous wave swelled was about six months. It will take a minimum of four months to produce vaccine in any volume, possibly longer, and much longer than that to produce enough vaccine to protect most Americans. The race has begun."