Flu season still in session

Don’t be fooled by the rising temperatures and spring-like weather. College students are still susceptible to the flu virus, and U.S. health officials say it’s partly because the vaccine doesn’t protect against most of this year’s spreading flu bugs.

Fairfield’s Heath Center has reported 75 cases of students with the flu or flu-like symptoms this academic year, which is actually down from last year.

“Spring Break came at a perfect time, because right before Spring Break, we were seeing a lot of the flu,” said Gary Nelson, director of Health Services at Fairfield.

Flu seasons are always unpredictable, and this year has been one of the worst.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] , the timing of the flu season and its severity depend on many factors, including what influenza viruses are circulating and how well viruses in the vaccine match the ones circulating.

Each year, the CDC makes their best educated guess on which influenza strains will be active in the coming year.

“This year’s flu shot is less effective because a major strain didn’t get into the shot,” said Nelson.

In February, the CDC said the vaccine protected against roughly half the circulating strains. In past years, the vaccine has fended off 70 to 90 percent of flu bugs.

The Health Center distributed over 700 flu shots this year.

Nelson attributes this year’s decline in flu cases and flu-like symptoms to both the increase in students who received flu shots as well as the increased use of instant hand sanitizers such as Purell.

“Hand washing is the number one infection-control method for everything,” said Nelson.

Nelson explained that the Health Center always strives to achieve herd immunity. This refers to that when a portion of a population is vaccinated, there results in better protection for the unvaccinated individuals and the population as a whole.

Last year, the Health Center saw cases of the flu up until May.

“The flu is always worse in a communal setting, and obviously college is a communal setting,” said Nelson.

The Student Health Center provides an in-house, 10-minute flu test that consists of a nasal swab.

If the flu is caught within the 48 hours, doctors are able to prescribe a prescription for the anti-flu drug Tamiflu . This does not make the flu go away completely, but it helps in lessoning symptoms and shortening its course.