Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup, Alina Popov / Roundup
Interim President Dr. Joy McCaslin stated that suspicions have risen that the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as swine flu, has reached the Pierce College campus at the American Federation of Teachers lunch this afternoon.
“We suspect that the flu cases we are seeing are H1N1,” McCaslin said.
The Los Angeles County health policy currently states that people suffering from flu-like symptoms are assumed to have the H1N1 virus.
Beth Benne, director of the Student Health Center , said there are no lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 flu on campus.
Based on a Los Angeles Department of Public Health release, due to current testing demands the L.A. County Public Health Laboratory is only accepting specimens from hospitalized intensive care unit patients, specimens from designated surveillance sites, and fatal cases of influenza like illnesses from outbreaks or clusters of cases with influenza like illnesses.
The H1N1 vaccine is not available at Pierce yet.
The vaccine will be available, free of charge, at the health center once it arrives.
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The previous article replaced an earlier article which suggested that Pierce has had confirmed reports of Swine Flu victims.
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