I write with a brief update on the H1N1 influenza situation at the College.
Since the start of classes, Colby's Health Services staff has seen approximately 70 students with symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI). The rate of illness has been fairly steady at a handful of cases per week, though we have experienced an increase in the number of ILI cases over the last two weeks. In all but a very few cases, the illness has resolved itself within a few days.
Following guidelines established by the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are not routinely testing for H1N1 influenza. In the few cases where a diagnosis supported testing for H1N1, the results have come back negative. However, we are currently operating under the assumption that we have H1N1 on campus.
Many of you have seen news reports describing production issues associated with manufacturing the H1N1 vaccine and the smaller-than-anticipated quantities of vaccine available for distribution nationwide. The Maine CDC, which distributes the H1N1 vaccine to health care providers in the state, says it will receive a fraction of the doses it had requested and has made it a priority to offer the available vaccine to students in K-12 schools.
Tuesday afternoon the Maine CDC notified me that the College would receive less than 5 percent of the 2000 doses of H1N1 vaccine ordered for the flu shot clinic planned for early November. Therefore, Colby will not be able to hold an H1N1 clinic. Students, faculty and staff who had planned to get their H1N1 vaccine from the College should contact their primary care physician.
My staff and I have begun to identify those students with underlying medical conditions that put them at high risk for complications from H1N1. The limited amount of vaccine the College hopes to have available will be offered to those students on a first-come first-served basis. We will not have enough vaccine available to vaccinate all of these students.
I urge all members of the Colby Community to continue to follow the prevention and treatment measures I have outlined in previous communications. Students experiencing flu-like symptoms (a fever of 100 degrees or greater accompanied by a cough or sore throat) should contact the Health Center and practice social distancing until they are fever-free for 24 hours. Faculty and staff experiencing flu-like symptoms should stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours. Additional information and resources are available at www.colby.edu/flu.
I will continue to provide updates on the H1N1 situation at Colby as warranted.
Paul D. Berkner, D.O., F.A.A.P.
Colby College
Medical Director
Director of Sports Medicine
4460 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, Maine 04901
