Auburn Home > Parents > A letter from Provost Mary Ellen Mazey

August 26, 2009

Dear Students and Parents,

You no doubt have concerns about the H1N1 influenza strain, known more commonly as swine flu, which has been spreading around the country.

Along with virtually every other college and university in the country, Auburn has been monitoring the situation closely. We feel we are prepared in the event the incidence becomes more widespread here, and are fortunate to have such an outstanding medical clinic on campus and strong relationships with community providers, as well.

We advise everyone -- students, faculty, and staff -- to wash hands frequently, avoid contact with persons who are ill. Flu can spread easily from person to person, therefore, we need everyone's help in preventing the spread of flu at Auburn. Please: practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol based hand cleaners, especially after coughing or sneezing; cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, or do so into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands; avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth since germs are spread easily this way; stay home if you have flu or flu-like illness for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (a fever is 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or higher) or signs of a fever (you have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

Talk with your health care provider about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu; those vaccinations should be available in the Auburn area within the next week or so. Also if you are at higher risk for flu complications from 2009 H1N1 flu, you should consider getting the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available; currently, H1N1-specific vaccines are not expected to be available until the end of October.

Anyone who becomes ill should avoid contact with others, and follow existing policies regarding absences: a doctor's excuse provided to the instructor is all that is required for any student illness, as outlined in the students' Tiger Cub handbook. Students should communicate with their instructors and arrange a time to provide make up work or re-schedule any missed exams. Our state public health department and our medical clinic director have indicated there is no need for further action at this time.

Parents, if your student lives on campus and is diagnosed with H1N1, we ask that you please consider transporting them home in a private vehicle to stay for the duration of their illness (until they no longer have a fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication). This is intended to allow your student a comfortable recovery and minimize other students' exposure to the virus. If this is not possible, please have your student notify his or her resident director or resident manager so that other accommodations can be made for them on campus as needed.

The Auburn Web page at www.auburn.edu is always your first stop for the most current information in any type of situation that may affect our students' health and safety. Also, there is a new Parents' Page site where we also provide the information (www.auburn.edu/parents). This Week at AU is an electronic email newsletter sent weekly to all students, and should be reviewed for changing information and updates from myself, the president and/or the vice president for student affairs. Finally, you can also subscribe to Wire Eagle (wireeagle.auburn.edu) to receive updates sent each week from Auburn to your email or mobile device.

The university posts recommendations and links to state and national resources with information on H1N1 at www.auburn.edu/emergency; currently there is information from the CDC specifically for universities which we continue to discuss.

Thank you, and I will continue to update you as needed should situations change.

Sincerely,

Mary Ellen Mazey
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs