Univ. takes precautions against swine flu

By: Lily Newman

Posted: 4/30/09

The state of Maryland reported six possible cases of swine influenza yesterday, three of which were from Baltimore County (at press time none of these cases had been confirmed).

This announcement followed one made earlier in the day regarding the first swine flu-related fatality in the United States. So far, cases of the swine flu have been identified in ten states as well as eight countries.

In the weeks since swine flu first emerged in Mexico, many subsets of the Hopkins community have been rapidly implementing pre-established plans to deal with a possible pandemic. At the forefront of this effort is the Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) which is in charge of planning for community-wide emergencies and implementing appropriate procedures. "We've spent quite a long time over the last couple of years preparing for a pandemic," James Scheulen, the executive director of CEPAR, said. "Hopkins really has done an extraordinary amount of planning for how we can protect our patients and protect our students." Concern about swine flu stems from the fact that it is a Type A strain of influenza, the same type that caused the 1918 pandemic (Spanish flu), the 1957 Asian flu and the 1968 Hong Kong flu. Type A is generally only seen in animals, while Type B and C are usually seen in humans.

At the Homewood campus, many student services are taking preventative measures in the hopes of avoiding problems.

"Obviously we are all now maintaining an elevated level of suspicion," Alain Joffe, director of the Health and Wellness Center, said.

"If someone shows flu-like symptoms, we are screening them to find out if they have traveled to or come from a hotspot. We try to identify any epidemiological links."

According to Joffe, the Health and Wellness center has started using rapid flu tests on anyone with questionable symptoms.

When testing for flu in the past, the Center took throat swabs and sent them to a state lab for analysis, but results could take days to return. The rapid tests enable the Center to quickly identify whether a patient has a Type A strain of flu, but the tests cannot diagnose swine flu.

The Health and Wellness Center has also started distributing face masks to any patient who comes in with possible flu symptoms.

This measure is also being taken by CEPAR which is distributing specially-fitted masks to employees at the hospital and other parts of the University that might be at risk.

In addition to CEPAR's precautionary actions, the Housing and Dining Office is also implementing strategies that would reduce community exposure if a case of swine flu does emerge. The Office is assessing spaces that are available right now and could be used for emergency isolation if need be.

"We've been asked to look at our facilities and how we could create a space where patients could be by themselves to minimize their impact on the students around them," Carol Mohr, Housing and Dining's senior director, said.

Housing and Dining has ordered hand sanitizer dispensers to place at the entrances of the major dining rooms on campus. The department also plans to distribute personal-sized hand sanitizers to as many students as possible.

"We recognize that there's a lot of opportunity, where people are living closely, to pass things on. I think that getting the word out to people about precautions that they can take is the most important thing."

To this end, Housing and Dining and the Health and Wellness Center are collaborating on flyers, posters and other educational materials to promote awareness of prevention tactics. These include standard methods for limiting the spread of germs such as covering a cough or sneeze.

Dining Services is also taking steps to insure safety by carefully reviewing food sources as well as food preparation and hygiene standards in all of the campus dining facilities.

"In this heightened time of concern, practices and standards have been again reviewed with staff," David Furhman, the director of dining programs for the Homewood campus, wrote in an e-mail.

"Our dining facilities and service practices are under regular scrutiny from a number of oversight entities including the City of Baltimore . . . and the Hopkins Department of Health, Safety and Environmental Services."

Late yesterday, CEPAR sent the second in a series of broadcast e-mails to the University. While the first e-mail focused on "growing concerns" and asked that members of the community to "actively monitor their own health," the most recent e-mail stated that "the situation is constantly changing" and asked that University students and employees report to their supervisors or the Health and Wellness center should they experience any relevant symptoms.

Though the overall situation remains in flux, many members of the community are confident that Hopkins is adequately prepared to deal with whatever may occur in the coming weeks and months.

"Now we're able to take a look at [our] plans and implement them, changing them a little bit based on what's actually playing out. Our plans are actually really good and as things move forward we just make minor changes and adjustments . . . " Scheulen said. "We're making sure that every part of the Johns Hopkins world is included in these plans."