Swine Flu Preparation at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania

Swine flu has been a concern at many college campuses across the country, and the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is no different. There have been numerous suspected cases of swine flu at the University of Pittsburgh, and the university is doing what it can to contain the spread of the illness. This is a difficult task, as there are literally tens of thousands of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and support staff at the University of Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, Pitt is doing its best to contain swine flu.

Much of Pitt's efforts to prepare for and combat the swine flu focus on prevention. The University of Pittsburgh has distributed a considerable amount of information regarding swine flu and the H1N1 virus directly to students, as well as posting flu information around campus. Students at the University of Pittsburgh are encouraged to wash their hands frequently and to stay away from those suspected to have H1N1. Like many other colleges across the country, the University of Pittsburgh has installed dispensers of hand sanitizer in many of its buildings so that students and staff can disinfect their hands regularly.

If a student at the University of Pittsburgh suspects that he or she has the H1N1 virus, he or she is assumed to be ill with swine flu and is advised to remain in his or her dorm room until recovery. Meanwhile, the student is provided with a swine flu kit, consisting of several face masks and a thermometer. If the student lives on campus, Pitt offers to provide catering to the student's room until he or she recovers. The reason that students are assumed to be ill with swine flu is because the test that confirms a swine flu diagnosis takes several weeks to process, which is obviously a long time to quarantine someone, especially when the symptoms are usually gone long before that.

Although there has been a lot of alarm regarding the swine flu in the past, the University of Pittsburgh recently released statistics regarding the student population and the illness. The average duration of swine flu symptoms in University of Pittsburgh students is 2.7 days, with very few students reporting any symptoms lasting longer than 5 days. Personally, I know several other University of Pittsburgh students that were suspected to have swine flu, and they followed this trend very closely.

While it is very difficult to contain a disease such as swine flu on a college campus, the University of Pittsburgh is doing what it can to ensure the health and safety of its students and faculty.