H1N1 News & Information
Faculty & Staff
Click here to read the CDC’s influenza-like illness (ILI) recommendations and guidelines.
Following is a summary of CDC recommendations regarding prevention and treatment of influenza-like illnesses (including H1N1) along with some specifics of how to handle influenza-like illness as a member of the Reed community.
Symptoms of Flu-like Illness
The symptoms of H1N1 influenza are similar to the symptoms of seasonal influenza and it will be very hard to tell if someone who is sick has H1N1 or seasonal flu. Public health officials and medical authorities will not recommend laboratory tests. Anyone who has the symptoms of flu-like illness should err on the side of caution, stay home, and not go to work. Symptoms of influenza, including H1N1, include:
- fever
- cough, sneezing, runny nose, congestion
- sore throat
- body aches
- headache
- chills
- fatigue
- diarrhea and vomiting (in some instances)
This chart can help you decide how severe your symptoms are and what your next steps should be in managing your illness.
High-Risk Groups
People with certain medical conditions may face special medical challenges during the influenza season. These health conditions include the following:
- pregnancy
- cancer
- blood disorders (including sickle cell disease)
- chronic lung disease [including asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)]
- diabetes
- heart disease
- kidney disorders
- liver disorders
- neurological disorders (including nervous system, brain or spinal cord)
- neuromuscular disorders (including muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis)
- people with weakened immune systems (including people with AIDS or those who are receiving chemotherapy)
It’s important to remember that people who have one or more of the conditions listed above can have a more severe illness from any influenza infection, including but not limited to the new H1N1 virus. If you have one of these health conditions and you develop influenza-like symptoms, contact your health care provider or seek medical care. For more information, visit the CDC.
Prevention and Wellness
Here are several important things you can do to help yourself to stay healthy and from getting sick or spreading the influenza.
- Practice good hand hygiene.
- Wash your hands often for 15 to 20 seconds with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners (60 to 95% alcohol) are also effective; rub these on the hands until the liquid or gel dries.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth as viruses spread that way.
- Always clean your hands before eating.
- Practice respiratory etiquette. The main way influenza spreads is from person to person in droplets produced by coughs and sneezes, so be sure to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands. Alternatively, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze; put the used tissue in a wastebasket. Clean your hands as soon as possible after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose.
- Stay home if you have a fever (100º F or 38º C) or signs of a fever (chills, feeling very warm, flushed appearance, or sweating). Limit interactions with other people (called “self-isolation”). Don’t come to work and "tough it out." Currently, the CDC recommends staying home at least twenty-four hours after you no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. Should this recommendation change, updated information will be posted to this website. (For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm.)
- Use disinfectant wipes frequently to clean keyboards, mice, tables, desks, door handles, railings, and other surfaces. The H1N1 virus can infect a person for up to eight hours after being deposited on hard surfaces and for up to a few minutes after being deposited on soft surfaces such as cloth and paper.
- Maintain a strong immune system to help keep you healthy. Eat a balanced diet. Be sure to eat a variety of foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products. Also, include low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish, and beans. Drink lots of water and go easy on salt, sugar, alcohol, and saturated fat. Exercise on a regular basis and get plenty of rest.
Vaccinations
Talk to your health care providers about whether you should be vaccinated. This is especially true if you are at higher risk for influenza complications from 2009 H1N1 influenza. People at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 influenza complications include pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes). For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm.
While there are no plans to offer any more on-campus vaccine clinics,, a plentiful supply of H1N1 vaccine does exist in the Portland area. For those of you that have not yet received the H1N1 vaccine, we encourage you to take the time now to get vaccinated. The following sources offer H1N1 vaccine clinics and may also have seasonal flu vaccine available:
- Safeway on Woodstock
- 503/771-8180
- H1N1 clinic on Wednesdays only, 1:30–3:30 p.m.
- no appointment needed; $15.00 charge
- Kaiser Interstate and Kaiser Mt. Scott Medical Office
- 888/595-0005
- H1N1 clinic Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
- no appointment needed; no charge
You do not need to be a Kaiser member to receive the vaccine. - Multnomah County Health
- 503/988-3828
- H1N1 clinic Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- by appointment only; no charge
All members of the Reed community are expected to take personal responsibility to help slow the spread of the influenza virus. By practicing these steps, we can, hopefully, keep from getting sick with influenza and help protect others from getting the influenza.
Advice to Be Prepared at Home
Should the H1N1 flu reach pandemic proportions, you will want to be prepared. Stock a supply of water and food at home. During a pandemic, you may not be able to get to a store. Even if you can get to a store, it may be out of supplies. Public waterworks services may also be interrupted. Stocking supplies can be useful in other types of emergencies, such as power outages and disasters. Store foods that:
- are nonperishable (will keep for a long time) and don't require refrigeration;
- are easy to prepare in case you are unable to cook; and
- require little or no water, so you can conserve water for drinking.
The CDC provides this checklist of items to have on hand for an extended stay at home. In addition, as you begin your individual or family planning, you may want to review planning efforts in Oregon at www.flu.oregon.gov. Washingtonians, go to www.doh.wa.gov/swineflu/default.htm.
Faculty and Staff Leave Policies
One of the most important steps you can take to prevent the spread of both seasonal flu and H1N1 influenza is to stay home from work, especially if you have a fever. Employee absence from work will likely be higher if the influenza begins to spread. There have been many questions regarding how absences will be treated, and how leave policies will apply. Below are the planned steps regarding use of sick and vacation leave for absences from work due to H1N1 influenza.
1. Question: If an employee becomes ill due to the H1N1 Influenza, how will leave time be treated?
Answer: Employees who become ill must stay home. When a person gets ill with H1N1, the influenza is anticipated to last approximately 7 days, and an employee should not return to work until having 24 hours with no fever (without the use of fever-reducing medications). Employees who are ill may report Sick Leave using available accrued Sick Leave balances, and then, if no more Sick Leave available, can use available, accrued Vacation Time. If an employee exhausts his/her Sick Leave and Vacation Time, any continued absence will be reported as time without pay.
2. Question: If an employee is needed to stay at home to care for a sick family member, how will leave time be treated?
Answer: Employees caring for a sick family member in the household may use accrued Sick Leave, then may use accrued, available Vacation Leave. If an employee exhausts Sick Leave and Vacation Leave, then additional time absent will be reported as time without pay.
3. Question: If an employee is in a high risk group and advised by their healthcare provider to stay home, how will this be treated?
Answers:
3.a. Consideration of who may be considered to be at high risk: While high risk groups for this new influenza are not known at this time, they may be the same as seasonal influenza. These include pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease or have immunosuppression. Note: the Reed website has more detailed information about this at www.reed.edu/health_center/h1n1/
3.b. If an employee presents a medical certification to Human Resources as “high risk” (but may not be ill with H1N1 influenza) and has been instructed by a medical practitioner to stay home and not come to work, this employee’s absence will be treated as FMLA (Family Medial Leave of Absence). The employee will be able to use accrued Sick Leave, followed by use of accrued, available Vacation Leave. If an employee on FMLA exhausts Sick Leave and available Vacation leave, then the additional time absent will be reported as time without pay.
4. Question: Will Reed College allow an employee to work from home (for example, employee is not ill, but stays at home to care for a sick family member OR because they are absent on FMLA with medical certification to remain home)?
Answer: Reed does not intend to have employees working from home, since much of our work activity is service-related, here on the campus.
5. Question: What if an employee must remain home to care for a child (not sick) whose school or daycare has closed as a result of the H1N1 influenza?
Answer: That employee will use accrued, available Vacation Leave to cover absences to be at home with a child whose school/daycare has closed. If Vacation time is exhausted, then the additional time absent will be reported as time without pay.
6. Question: If an employee decides to stay home (but if not ill with the influenza) because of fear of potential exposure to influenza here on campus, how will this be treated?
Answer: If a influenza outbreak emerges within our community, in order to continue our services, healthy employees will be expected to come to work. This will be especially true if there is high absenteeism due to employee illness, or employees caring for ill family members. Therefore, employees who are healthy and choose not to come to work will be considered to be on unauthorized absence and time away will be reported as unpaid leave. No paid leave will be allowed.
7. Question: What protections are being provided to employees, if this turns out to be a major influenza outbreak within the Reed community?
Answer: The College intends to continue its normal operations while taking precautions to address influenza outbreak. At this time, we are not able to call upon the Facilities staff to conduct special sanitizing/cleaning of work spaces, computers, phones, door knobs and related. Employees are advised to obtain alcohol-based hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes (which can be purchased through your department at the Reed Bookstore) and to do regular cleaning of equipment in your work area that may be shared by others. We are installing hand sanitizers in high traffic areas. Regular communications are being distributed to students, faculty and staff regarding the disease and steps individuals should take to prevent the spread of influenza. Every employee is a participant in preventing any spread of influenza through frequent hand-washing while at work, controlling coughs, and staying home if you are ill. For employees with higher than normal potential exposure to influenza while carrying out their work, plans are in place to provide additional protection if the influenza begins to spread widely (such as gloves, masks and other protective equipment). If a vaccine is developed for H1N1, Reed will make this available following government guidelines.
Stay Informed
Reed College will continue to provide updates for staff and faculty on this Reed.edu website regarding H1N1 influenza within our campus community. Please check regularly for important information.
Knowing the facts is the best preparation. Please visit the our helpful links for more information. Your health care provider can also be an excellent resource.