By BRIAN BIGELOW | Staff Writer

It is likely the 2009 H1N1 virus will continue to spread for years to come, like a regular seasonal influenza virus, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, www.cdc.gov.

The 2009 H1N1 flu virus, also known as “swine flu,” caused, “the first global pandemic in more than 40 years,” according to the CDC website.

This year’s flu vaccine protects against H1N1 as well as two other strains of the influenza virus.

APSU Health Services, located in the Ellington building room 104, began administering influenza vaccines Thursday, Sept. 30, Vaccines are also offered at doctors’ offices, hospitals, and many pharmacies. The vaccines offered through Health Services cost $22.

“Everyone who does not have a medical contraindication to receiving the vaccine should receive the vaccine,” said Kristy Reed, a nurse practitioner with APSU Health Services. “The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the most important step in protecting against influenza.”

The CDC website advises “that everyone 6 months and older get a 2010-2011 flu vaccine.”

“It is important for college students to get vaccinated because being ill with flu can cause the student to miss class, exams and school deadlines,” Reed said.

“It is hard to predict how severe the flu season will be,” Reed said.

“The timing, severity and length of the flu [season] depends on what strains of influenza are circulating in a particular season and whether those strains match the viruses in that year’s vaccine.”

“So far, the signs point to a normal flu season,” said Chad Brooks, associate professor in the APSU Department of Biology and member of last year’s H1N1 task force.

“Flu is and will continue to be a problem as it has been every year, but we are very hopeful that this year will not be as last year.”

“APSU took a much more proactive approach in preparing for a possible widespread outbreak of H1N1 virus on campus last year.

“We implemented many ways to prevent the spread of illness such as placing hand sanitizer in classrooms and other public areas,” said Jill DeGraauw, a nurse practitioner with APSU Health Services, also stressing the importance of hand-washing as a means to prevent spread of flu viruses.

APSU also created a flu task force that monitored the flu situation and discussed what steps should be taken by the university.

Last year, 212 cases of influenza-like-illnesses were documented at APSU via voluntary reports from students, faculty and staff to a dedicated e-mail address.

APSU lacked the ability to distinguish between H1N1 and other strains of the flu, so all cases of influenza-like-illnesses were tracked and no specific numbers of H1N1 cases are available.

Currently, there are no plans to track influenza-like-illnesses during this flu season, but “as advisories from the CDC and [the] Montgomery Health [Department] are produced, APSU will act accordingly,” Brooks said.

“The flu task force is ready to work should the need arise … [and] will be convened [when and if] necessary.”

The CDC estimates that of an approximately 61 million cases of H1N1 flu between April 2009 and April 2010.

The virus was responsible for an estimated 12,469 deaths and 274,304 hospitalizations nationwide.

The World Health Organization declared an end to the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic on Tuesday, Aug. 10, and the U.S. Public Health Emergency for the H1N1 virus expired June 23. TAS

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