Swine flu slows at Georgia colleges

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia colleges are seeing fewer students with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu, but state and national officials warn another outbreak is possible.

Campus health centers are still treating sick students, but the rate of new cases has slowed — a trend found at colleges across the Southeast, according to data released Wednesday by the American College Health Association. The organization collects weekly data on the illness with the most recent information as of Sept. 11.

Georgia colleges saw a 57 percent decline in new cases, followed by Mississippi, which dropped by 42 percent, and North Carolina, which dropped by 33 percent, according to the group. The association sends out a weekly survey and colleges voluntarily participate.

“These outbreaks are bell-shaped curves and we expect about four weeks is the total length of the curve,” said James Turner, president of association.

Students arrived on Georgia campuses in mid-August.

Another wave of cases could come in January or February, said Turner, executive director of student health at University of Virginia.

The outbreak happened earlier than expected, said Bridget Guernsey Riordan, dean of students at Emory University. More than 460 Emory students have sought medical treatment and about 130 relocated to a dormitory officials set up as a voluntary quarantine.

During the height of the outbreak about 50 students were staying at the dorm, Turman South, but only two students were there earlier this week. The average stay is two to three days.

The college is waiting to see if there is another wave of the illness and plans to keep Turman South open, Riordan said.

Workers at Georgia Tech’s health services are seeing about 30 students a day with flu-like symptoms, a decline of 50 percent from the initial surge, college spokesman Matt Nagel said.

During the first week of September, the health center at the University of Georgia diagnosed about 65 students a day with flu-like symptoms. Last week it was down to about 30 a day, said Liz Rachun, UGA’s health communications coordinator.

But the clinic had about 50 students with flu-like symptoms Tuesday, a spike likely caused by the home football game, she said.

“The football impact is huge,” Rachun said. “It’s inevitable students will get sick because of the close proximity of people.”

Infected students are doing well and college medical officers say the illness is behaving like seasonal flu.

That bodes well for colleges starting to get a surge. Campuses in the Midwest and Mid-Atlanta areas — which start classes later — are beginning to experience the outbreak, Turner said.