One-third of 235 seventh- and eight-graders attending the Duke University Talent Identification Program, or TIP, summer program at Davidson College last month were sent home early with possible cases of H1N1 influenza, officials said Wednesday.

A total of 78 students left early from the program’s second term, which ended as scheduled on Saturday, Aug. 1, Kate Thomson, Duke TIP”s director of marketing and communications, told DavidsonNews.net.

She was not sure how many, if any of the students actually had the H1N1 virus, since only a test can confirm the presence of the virus. “There were certainly students who were exhibiting flu-like symptoms,” Ms. Thomson said.

H1N1 influenza, sometimes referred to as “swine flu,” on June 11 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Health officials say in most cases it is actually milder than typical seasonal flu viruses, though as with seasonal flu, there have been deaths.

Most who fall ill with the virus – such as students in the Duke TIP program – do not become gravely ill and are not tested, so it’s hard to tell how widespread it is, health officials say.

The virus has wreaked havoc with summer camps and summer schools this year. Camps and programs nationwide have reported an unusually high number of sick children this summer.

2 TIP CAMPUSES AFFECTED

Davidson was one of two locations in the 16-campus TIP program to experience a flu outbreak, Ms. Thomson said.

A similar program on Duke University’s East Campus in Durham was shut early after a rapid increase in illnesses. Duke said 25 of the 260 participants there tested positive or reported flu symptoms. It was the first time in the program’s 29 years that a program was closed early, Duke said.

As illnesses spread at the Davidson program, Duke TIP officials did quarantine students who became ill, and they were sent home early. Some students also were picked up early during the program’s final week after Duke alerted parents of the flu outbreak.

On the final Monday of the program, July 27, Duke TIP sent parents another email after the number of illnesses increased. “We felt there were enough cases to warrant a more proactive communication with parents. We said, ‘If your child does become ill you will need to leave campus within 24 hours,’” in accordance with Duke TIP program rules, Ms. Thomson said.

Duke TIP offered families partial refunds and a $100 travel allowance if they chose to pick up kids early. Seven families did so after receiving that email, she said.

For some parents, the possibility of a child’s having H1N1 meant an extended stay in Davidson before airline flights home. While the students were required to leave campus within 24 hours, the federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines say people with H1N1 symptoms should not fly for several days. So some were forced to hole up in local hotels until the symptoms passed.

MILD BUT PERVASIVE

It’s hard to say exactly how widespread this summer’s outbreak of H1N1 flu actually is. Dr. Stephen Keener, Mecklenburg County Health Department’s medical director, said Wednesday that tests screening for the virus are only performed when someone is sick enough to be hospitalized.

“The symptoms of H1N1 are like seasonal flu, though we’re finding they’re a little bit milder,” Dr. Keener said. “We don’t know if that’s going to change (this winter). It is also the experience in the southern hemisphere to date.”

He said in the southern hemisphere, where it is now winter, seasonal influenza has been less of an issue this winter than H1N1. “Almost all of it is H1N1,” he said.

What is different about H1N1, he said, is that it tends to affect children, pregnant women and younger adults. By contrast, typical winter flu strikes the “over 65 population.”

Since the outbreak began in April, eight people in North Carolina have died as a result of contracting the virus, none in or near Mecklenburg. Dr. Keener said the outbreak is actually not as severe as seasonal flu, which he said can kill 35,000 to 50,000 people a year in the U.S.

State health officials said a total of 554 cases had been confirmed statewide as of July 29. Dr. Keener said the total in Mecklenburg County has now reached 18, though he noted “those are just the laboratory confirmed cases. Most of the cases don’t get tested.”

New statistics are due today, Aug. 5, but the state department of Health & Human Services said it will no longer provide county-by-county breakdowns.

Like any illness transmitted through contact, H1N1 can be easily avoided, Dr. Keener said.

“The best way to prevent influenza is to wash your hands, cover you cough, avoid to hand to face behavior, and, when it’s available, get vaccinated,” he said.

The seasonal influenza vaccine should be available a bit earlier this fall. And researchers are developing a two-shot H1N1 vaccine as well, which may be ready in “mid-October, maybe later,” he said. For those at most risk, that could mean three flu shots this year, instead of one.

RELATED LINKS

Mecklenburg County H1N1 influenza information page, CLICK HERE>

Centers for Disease Control, “Swine Flu and You” page, CLICK HERE>

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services H1N1 statistics, CLICK HERE>

July 23, 2009, New York Times, “Summer camp 09: A swim, a cough, a quarantine.”