The swine flu is now being classified as influenza A here at Ferris
There have been two officially confirmed cases of swine flu on the FSU campus, with a possible higher number that have been classified as Influenza A.
Paul Sullivan, the director of Birkham Health Center, said that they are no longer testing for swine flu due to a shortage of testing supplies, and that most cases are now being classified as Influenza A, some of which are most likely the H1N1 virus. He also said that he is expecting the numbers of influenza like illnesses (ILI) to be on the rise over the next three or four weeks.
“This week, our numbers of ILI…have been running about nine or ten cases per day,” said Sullivan.
The health center here on campus has also been seeing between 90 and 100 students per day and has had to offer some alternative options when they reach maximum capacity.
Sullivan also said that the average length of the sickness going around is about three or four days. The majority of cases have consisted of normal flu symptoms and there has not been anything too severe.
In relation to the shortage of H1N1 testing supplies, Sullivan said that the Center for Disease Control has been inundated with requests for them, and many doctors around the country have ran out of test kits.
Ferris is expected to receive a shipment of H1N1 vaccines by mid to late October. Sullivan said they ordered enough so that anyone who needs to be vaccinated will be able to be treated.
The health center is still offering the seasonal flu vaccine, which they have had in for a few weeks now, for ten dollars to students who have paid their health center fee.
Sullivan said that the outbreak that has occurred is right about what he was expecting it to be, and that there have been no life-threatening cases so far.