Gil Riego Jr. / Roundup
Recent e-mails to students and staff members by Pierce College President Robert Garber and Beth Benne, the director of the Student Health Center have been sent to address the state of the campus and its reaction to the swine flu outbreak that originated from Mexico.
While swine flu is not a new form of influenza, it is one to be worried about if caught.
The most common way to catch it is through direct exposure to pigs.
Although Pierce does have a swine unit on campus it has been years since actual pigs have been in the facilities.
Because of this, and many other factors, Pierce is not taking major actions to safeguard against the threat of this virus according to Garber.
With no reported cases in Los Angeles he does not see a danger to any of the students at the moment.
“I think the swine flue is a serious problem in Mexico where there have been deaths,” said Shirley Truong, a 23-year-old pre-vet medicine major. “I’m not too worried about it here in Los Angeles though.”
Of the 13 reported cases in California with five coming from both San Diego and Imperial counties and three in Sacramento County, there have been no reported deaths from swine flu according to the Center for Infectious Diseases.
The e-mail sent by Garber and Benne, reads that people should not panic and to practice basic every day germ prevention actions such as covering ones mouth while coughing or sneezing, washing hands thoroughly with soap and water or hand sanitizing agents.
The suggestion emphasized within the e-mail is “If you feel sick, stay home.”
“I’m still doing common sense things,” said Truong. “(But) I don’t plan on wearing a mask or anything extreme.”
