Swine Flu
Click to return to the main Swine Flu web page
A Message from Linda Lorimer, Vice President and Secretary, to the Yale Community — April 27, 2009
I am sure you have been following reports of swine flu in Mexico and, over the weekend, in New York. Forty confirmed cases have occurred in the United States (in Texas, California, Ohio, New York and Kansas). All the cases in the United States have been relatively mild, and this strain appears to respond to treatments commonly available at Yale University Health Services (YUHS) and other medical facilities.
At this point, the most important thing for you to remember is to seek appropriate medical care if you have flu-like symptoms (see below). Additionally, if you are ill with fever and respiratory symptoms, you should refrain from going to work or to classes before speaking with a health care professional.
What to do if you think you have the flu
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of the more common seasonal human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu.
If you think you have the flu, call YUHS right away at 432-0123—whether or not you are a member of the Yale Health Plan. If you are a member, you will be guided to next steps for seeking medical care. Please do not just “drop in” to Urgent Visit without calling first for instructions. Extra staff are available to respond to calls and set up appointments as needed. Remember that if you are a student who has waived YUHS coverage, basic services (which include treatment for the flu) are provided for free.
If you are not a member of the Yale Health Plan, I would appreciate your calling YUHS, in addition to your own doctor, if you have flu symptoms. YUHS staff will be able to offer basic guidance regarding your own care, and it is very important that we keep apprised of cases that are developing so we can respond appropriately for the welfare of the entire community.
Often devoted staff and faculty persevere and come to work when they are ill. This is NOT the time to do this. Use your sick time! Obviously this is a very busy time of the year, but we need to consider the health of others at this time.
What is Yale doing?
The University has an Emergency Response Team that has worked for several years following SARS to develop plans to respond to various medical emergencies. That group, which I chair, has already met, and we are monitoring developments very closely. Meetings with the Deans and Directors as well as the Masters and Residential College Deans will occur this week.
We plan on posting regular updates on the University’s Emergency Preparation website at www.yale.edu/secretary/emergency/ and the website of University Health Services. We will be providing updates and further information, especially about any changes for summer programs. If you have particular questions, please do not hesitate to contact the University’s Director of Emergency Management Maria Bouffard at maria.bouffard@yale.edu or 436-8597.
Also if you are interested in additional information, you may wish to consult the World Health Organization website as well as the Centers for Disease Control, which has a special swine flu website with daily updates; the addresses for those sites are: Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am grateful to Dr. Michael Rigsby, Medical Director of YUHS and a specialist in infectious disease, for preparing the following “Frequently Asked Questions.” We will update this information on the website www.yale.edu/secretary/emergency.
