Some H1N1 Cases Reported At Local University

Alabama Mobile But officials at the University of South Alabama say they number less than a dozen.

by Steve Alexander

Published: Mon, August 24, 2009 - 9:22 pm CST Last Updated: Mon, August 24, 2009 - 9:50 pm CST

Officials at the University of South Alabama are keeping an eye out for cases of the H1N1 Flu strain.
School officials said they believe there are less than a dozen cases among students on campus.
Dr. Allen Perkins, the chairman of Family Medicine at USA, said, "In terms of what it looks like with the virus itself, at this point, its not as serious as it might be."
But Perkins said there is what he calls a "fair" number of flu cases spread out at schools around the area.
He said he's seeing "as the schools have gotten together and the students have gotten together, (there's) a lot of sharing of viruses and I suspect we'll see that on campus."
USA students News Five talked to knew about H1N1, but had different thoughts on it.
When asked if she was worried about the strain of flu, Amber Rankins said, "Yeah. I try to keep hand sanitizer and stuff on me."
Mandy Sullivan, a student and teacher at USA, said, "I think as long as we all have good hygiene habits and stay clean, I'm not worried about it."
And some students said they're less concerned about the flu on campus than they are in other places.
When asked if she was worried about H1N1, Brittany Bilbo said, "I was when I lived back at home in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, but not really much anymore."
And just to show how far reaching the H1N1 flu strain can be, Aniss Adsikari said he heard of a few cases in his home country: Nepal.
University of South Alabama officials said if students develop coughing, fever, or aches, they should go to the Student Health Center or their doctor.

WKRG.com » News Stream » Alabama