Six cases of swine flu reported at Bethany University

Six cases of swine flu were confirmed at Bethany University late last week.
All six cases were detected in students who were quickly quarantined to the campus health center. Some have returned home, university officials said.
Dr. Sharon Anderson, the school’s Vice President of Student Development, has taken the appropriate measures outlined by the the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in regards to swine flu, her assistant Joel McGaffee said.
“We’ve been very proactive,” McGaffee said. “If students don’t feel good, we keep watch. We’ve been keeping a very close eye.”
Anderson was not available for comment this afternoon.
The cases of the H1N1 virus, as the virus was re-named by U.S. health officials, were found on the first floor of Gerhart Hall and all floors of Harp Hall. Both are girl’s dormatories located on a hill near the center of campus.
The campus has been a bustle with paranoia, said Bethany sophomore Shaina Williams on Monday.
“Everyone has been using hand sanitizer like crazy,” Williams said.
Williams said many students have been going to the health center when not feeling well, fearful of contracting the H1N1 virus. A lot of students are taking vitamin C, she said.
McGaffee said Dr. Anderson has been in contact with the county health department to go over details and protocol.
As of September 10, eight people in Santa Cruz County had been hospitalized as probable or confirmed swine flu cases; three were admitted into an intensive care unit, and one death was reported.
The local swine flu emergency resolution that was declared by the County Board of Supervisors in May is still in effect.
Read the full story in the September 25 Press-Banner.