The University has formed a task force consisting of 22 faculty, staff and student representatives including faculty with expertise in public health, microbiology and epidemiology. The task force is planning and implementing procedures for preventing the spread of the virus on campus and developing action plans for various scenarios in the event of a campus wide epidemic.

Various preventive measures have been ordered, including the following: Presentations during both the Faculty/Staff and Freshman Convocations. Supplies of hand sanitizers and wipes for distribution to departments, offices and classrooms. Pocket hand sanitizers will be distributed to freshmen and residence hall rooms. University housing officials will also place hand sanitizers in common areas of residence halls. Initial plans are to have these items installed within the next few days. Classes begin on Saturday.

Information links for H1N1 have been posted on the Austin Peay home page, http://www.apsu.edu, and the Austin Peay Health Services home page, http://www.apsu.edu/healthservices, and will be updated as new information becomes available. Fliers are being posted throughout campus and provided to students with general information about prevention, symptoms and what to do if they think they have typical symptoms associated with H1N1. Faculty will also relay the same information to students as classes begin. University housing officials have also coordinated plans with dining services to provide meals to students who become sick and may be isolated in their residence halls.

Austin Peay Health Services plans to have regular flu vaccinations available beginning Oct. 15. However, these vaccinations do not protect individuals from H1N1. The University has registered to receive H1N1 immunizations but does not have any confirmation for receiving them and do not anticipate receiving any prior to late November or early December.

“The summit gave federal and state officials the opportunity to share strategies and information that will be helpful in preparation and planning for the upcoming flu season and the flu pandemic,” said Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN. “Flu-related illness continues across the state and U.S., and this is expected with a pandemic. However, I urge all Tennesseans to remain vigilant and practice good hygiene to prevent the spread of flu.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

At present, most of the people who have become sick with novel H1N1 in the United States have not become seriously ill and have recovered without hospitalization. Cases have been confirmed in all 50 states in the U.S., with an official count at more than 37,000 cases, with 211 fatalities. To date, there have been 246 confirmed cases of the novel H1N1 virus in Tennessee with one reported death.

As the upcoming influenza season approaches in the fall and winter months, it is uncertain how this new virus may affect U.S. populations. The Tennessee Department of Health encourages the public to help protect their communities by following simple health and hygiene practices, including frequent hand washing, covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, avoiding close contact with those who are ill and staying home when sick.

Vaccines are a very important part of a response to novel H1N1 influenza. The federal government is working closely with manufacturers to develop a novel H1N1 vaccine, a long multi-step process requiring several months to complete. Additional information on the availability and distribution of H1N1 vaccine is forthcoming.

“The Department of Health remains in close communication with federal officials, and we will provide updated information related to H1N1 and vaccine as it becomes available,” said State Epidemiologist Tim F. Jones, MD.

For more information on H1N1 flu, visit the Web at http://health.state.tn.us/H1N1.htm or http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/.

Swine Flu (Influenza A/H1N1) is rapidly spreading, and has become a item of major concern to public health agencies around the globe. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has declared a public health emergency in the United States. Their response goals are to help reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public to address the challenges posed by this emergency.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the outbreak. To assist in this endeavour, the CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to help coordinate the investigation.

The United States Government has thus far reported 109 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death in Texas. Mexico has reported 97 confirmed human cases of infection, including seven deaths. The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (19), Germany (3), Israel (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (3), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (8).

The World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5 on April 29, 2009.

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Staying healthy

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Key Facts about Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)

What is Swine Influenza? Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.

How many swine flu viruses are there? Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

Swine Flu in Humans

Can humans catch swine flu? Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. For example, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.

How common is swine flu infection in humans? In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans? The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork? No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How does swine flu spread? Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What do we know about human-to-human spread of swine flu? In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine.

In follow-up studies, 76% of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.

How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed? To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.

What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans? There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.

What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there? Probably the most well known is an outbreak of swine flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The swine influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).

Is the H1N1 swine flu virus the same as human H1N1 viruses? No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.

Swine Flu in Pigs

How does swine flu spread among pigs? Swine flu viruses are thought to be spread mostly through close contact among pigs and possibly from contaminated objects moving between infected and uninfected pigs. Herds with continuous swine flu infections and herds that are vaccinated against swine flu may have sporadic disease, or may show only mild or no symptoms of infection.

What are signs of swine flu in pigs? Signs of swine flu in pigs can include sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing (barking), discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and going off feed.

How common is swine flu among pigs? H1N1 and H3N2 swine flu viruses are endemic among pig populations in the United States and something that the industry deals with routinely. Outbreaks among pigs normally occur in colder weather months (late fall and winter) and sometimes with the introduction of new pigs into susceptible herds. Studies have shown that the swine flu H1N1 is common throughout pig populations worldwide, with 25 percent of animals showing antibody evidence of infection. In the U.S. studies have shown that 30 percent of the pig population has antibody evidence of having had H1N1 infection. More specifically, 51 percent of pigs in the north-central U.S. have been shown to have antibody evidence of infection with swine H1N1. Human infections with swine flu H1N1 viruses are rare. There is currently no way to differentiate antibody produced in response to flu vaccination in pigs from antibody made in response to pig infections with swine H1N1 influenza.

While H1N1 swine viruses have been known to circulate among pig populations since at least 1930, H3N2 influenza viruses did not begin circulating among US pigs until 1998. The H3N2 viruses initially were introduced into the pig population from humans. The current swine flu H3N2 viruses are closely related to human H3N2 viruses.

Is there a vaccine for swine flu? Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

* Facts in this release are provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Swine Flu web sites. The CDC is one of the major operating components of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

HIV remains a persistent and pervasive threat to the health, well-being, and human potential of many African American communities. As the impact of the epidemic among African Americans has grown, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local public health agencies, and African American communities have stepped up efforts to address the crisis.

While we have seen important signs of progress in reducing risk in many African American populations, the impact remains severe. Today, a heightened national response is urgently needed to build on progress to date and meet the serious challenges that remain.

HIV and AIDS: A Health Crisis for African Americans – African Americans are severely and disproportionately affected by HIV. While blacks represent approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, they account for approximately half of the more than one million Americans currently estimated to be living with HIV, and have represented 40 percent of all deaths among people with AIDS in the U.S. to date.

As new treatments have expanded the lifespans of people infected with HIV, the number of African Americans living with HIV continues to increase, creating more opportunities for HIV transmission.

Fortunately, even in the face of rising HIV prevalence, there have been no indications of increases in the overall rate of new HIV infections among African Americans. In fact, there have been signs of possible reductions in new infections among blacks in some areas hard hit by HIV, such as the state of Florida, and in populations hard hit throughout the country, including injection drug users and African American women. Additionally, mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which largely affects African Americans, has been dramatically reduced, and African American teens have reported significant declines in sexual risk behavior and increases in condom use in recent years. Yet significantly more must be done to address the impact of HIV among African American men, women, and young people.

The latest CDC data on new HIV diagnoses between 2001 and 2005 in the 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting show that:*

• African American males continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV in the U.S. In 2005, the rate of HIV diagnosis (number of cases per 100,000 population) among black men was nearly seven times higher than that of white men, and more than twice that of black women.
• African American women are also severely affected. Among black women in 2005, the rate was more than 20 times that of white women.
• Racial disparities in HIV diagnoses are particularly severe among young people. Overall, blacks made up half (51%) of all new HIV diagnoses between 2001 and 2005. But among youth aged 13 –24, blacks accounted for 61 percent of diagnoses.

*CDC. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Diagnoses of HIV/AIDS—33 States, 2001–2005. MMWR 2007;56:189–193. Note: New HIV diagnoses do not necessarily represent new infections, because some individuals with new HIV diagnoses were infected recently, while others were infected long ago.

CDC’S commitment to fighting HIV among African Americans

As the impact of HIV on African Americans has grown over time, so have efforts to combat it. CDC works with partners across the nation to fight HIV on the front lines of the epidemic. Today, nearly half of CDC’s domestic HIV prevention budget, or more than $300 million, is directed to fighting HIV in African American communities.

The largest share of CDC prevention funds for African American communities, an estimated $244 million, supports state and local health departments; national, regional, and community organizations; and health care providers across the U.S.

CDC funds these partners to implement programs to reduce HIV risk behavior among African Americans, help those living with HIV to protect their sexual partners from infection, and increase HIV testing and links to HIV care. Their efforts include approaches such as intensive one-on-one and group counseling, peer outreach, and HIV testing in community-based and health care settings.

Roughly $140 million is now directed to state and local health departments who work in partnership with local community groups to reach the African American populations at greatest risk in their area. Funding for this program has increased from $5.75 million in 1988.

To supplement these efforts and provide additional support to hard-hit communities, CDC provides $30 million directly to community-based organizations to implement programs, an increase from $3 million in 1988.

For more details, follow this link to the CDC website.

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