There has been much in the news the last several days about swine flu. Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. These swine viruses do not usually infect humans, but recently human cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Mexico and in several states in the U.S., including California. Severe respiratory illness and deaths have been reported in Mexico; however, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) all 40 cases in the U.S. -- including the seven in California -- have recovered. There have been no reported cases in Orange County. For more information on the swine flu outbreak, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/?s_cid=swineFlu_outbreak_internal_001



At Chapman, the staff of our Student Health Services have been in contact with the Orange County Health Care Agency and continue to monitor the situation through the CDC. Should there be a reason for additional information or alerts, we will get those to you immediately.



Since the flu is spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people, the most helpful thing you can do right now is to take the following steps to keep yourself 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 hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

If you get sick with influenza, you should go to Student Health Services to get checked out, and then stay home from work and school to keep from infecting others.


For more information, I recommend the following fact sheet provided by the Orange County Health Care Agency: http://ochealthinfo.com/epi/swine/swineflu-local-factsheet.pdf.





Jerry Price, Ph.D.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

and Dean of Students

Chapman University

714-997-6721