Swine Flu Prevention at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

As a student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I feel that the steps provided by the university to combat the spread of the H1N1 virus have been adequate.

Last semester, when swine flu first started to appear, the University would periodically send out e-mails as students began contracting the disease, explaining which department the student was a member of, and which dorm they stayed in so fellow students could take the necessary precautions. However, as the virus has spread, it is no longer practical to send individual emails to students; so instead, the university has focused on widespread education in an attempt to facilitate prevention.

One of the most noticeable attempts at prevention has been the increased use of hand sanitizer. It is difficult to go through your day without seeing at least two hand sanitizer dispensers. They have been strategically placed outside of places that serve food, at student events, and even in some education buildings. With the rise of hand sanitizer use, has come an increase in educational signage. At heavily traveled areas on campus there are signs detailing the signs and symptoms of the H1N1 virus, and precautions you can take to avoid contracting the disease yourself. There are even signs in each bathroom explaining how to wash your hands through step by step instructions, which is sadly necessary for some people.

In an effort to keep people informed about the disease, the university's Student Health Services has provided an in depth online guide to prevention tactics, and even details on what to do if you contract the disease. They request that following a positive diagnosis, students should quarantine themselves. During that time, they must confine themselves to their dorm rooms or go home to wait out the disease. Only after their fever breaks and they sustain a normal temperature for at least 24 hours are they allowed to go to class. Until such a time, students should only leave their rooms rarely, and when they do, they should wear surgical masks to prevent further spreading the virus.

The steps my school has taken to avoid a mass outbreak of the swine flu are fairly standard, but so far they have been effective. In the case of something happening to cause the school to have to shut down, however, steps are already being taken to fill the gap caused by the inability o go to class. Professors are starting to focus on the online program known as "blackboard" as a way to get assignments out to students so that when school starts back up, we wouldn't be too far behind.