Flu under control at AUBG

 

Even though the Bulgarian Health Ministry declared a national swine flu (H1N1) epidemic on November 6, the number of AUBG students with flu like symptoms is going down. Unless the situation changes, AUBG will not cancel classes.

Health Center Director Dr. Ventsislav Daskalov said he believes the H1N1 virus was present on the AUBG campus last month. "The number of ill students coming [to the Health Center for treatment, or] for medical excuses for illness treated by a different doctor is lower than a month ago," he added.

As the virus spreads easily in such a close community as a university dormitory, the epidemic at AUBG reached its peak sooner than in the rest of the country, Daskalov said.

Now, "you have the immunity, some of you, most of you. [That's] why I'm not afraid," Daskalov said.

After the epidemic was declared, all schools and some Bulgarian universities canceled their classes in hope of slowing down the spread of the virus, Daskalov said. Such an approach would be ineffective at AUBG, as students live together in their dormitories, he added.

Daskalov said he will recommend cancelling classes "if the situation gets totally out of the control," and that the probability of that happening is "low to none."

AUBG President David Huwiler said he "would make the decision to close the university [if] the flu situation became dire. We [the administration] are very carefully monitoring illness and class attendance levels on campus, and at this point we do not seem to have been significantly affected."

If the situation does get "totally out of the control," patients with severe symptoms will be sent to the hospital, and others will be treated at home, Daskalov said.

"We have been told that the local hospitals are well-equipped to treat people with severe symptoms if the need should arise," Huwiler said.

"Swine flu is not [...] more dangerous [...] than the regular seasonal flu. It's just another kind of flu," Daskalov said. Approximately 50 percent of swine flu patients do not require medical attention, he added.

"Many [patients] are just having [...] some symptoms like moderate cold, minor temperature, sneezing, coughing for two, three, four days and it's over," Daskalov said. Some require general flu medication with or without antibiotics, depending on the symptoms; and probably around 10 to 15 percent of patients require treatment with Tamiflu, because of the severity of the symptoms, he added.

In some cases Daskalov did prescribe Tamiflu to AUBG students, but that "doesn't mean that these are people in danger," he said.

The H1N1 vaccine is not yet available, Daskalov said. AUBG will take several issues into consideration when deciding on procuring the vaccines, he added. It "will depend on when the vaccine is available, it could be available after the epidemic is over actually; how much it costs; whether or not the insurances will cover it; and many other issues," Daskalov said. AUBG will decide on buying the vaccines after they become available, Daskalov added.

"We've asked professors to report every day how many students are missing from their classes," Dean of Faculty Steve Sullivan said. AUBG is looking for indications that would prompt a closer inspection of the health of the student body, so that we "can check in on people," he added.

"What we're looking for is not 100 percent attendance, but whether or not the rate of students being absent suddenly takes a spike, [as] that might be an indication [of] an epidemic," Sullivan said. "So far to my knowledge nothing unusual is being reported," he added.

Other reasons for students missing classes, like sleeping in, are not expected to affect this tracking method, Sullivan said. "Unless students are suddenly getting much more lazy, it's not going to skew the data," he added.

According to an e-mail Daskalov sent to all students on November 2, "in case someone has a high temperature, cough, sore throat, body aching, he/she should stay at home, contact his doctor in case the temperature is over 39°C for more than 24 hours." Daskalov also recommended using medication like Paracetamol (Panadol or Eferalgan), Methamisol (Analgin or Tonialgin) and combined drugs like Coldrex, Fervex or Tylol Hot in accordance to the specifications of the drugs.

Unless prescribed, the use of Aspirin should be avoided, together with antibiotics and Tamiflu, the e-mail reads.

As of November 9, there are 150,000 people infected with H1N1 in Bulgaria, according to an article published by Novinite.com. Bulgaria's Chief Epidemiologist, Dr. Angel Kunchev "stated that there are regions of the country where 400 out of every 10,000 people have the virus," the article reads.

According to Novinite.com, as of November 12, there are 12 confirmed H1N1 deaths in Bulgaria, and 634 confirmed cases.

When asked if he is worried, Sullivan said: "I suppose concern would be a better word than worry. I don't think that it's a catastrophe that's about to fall upon us, but it's something to keep an eye on."

Health Center info

During the swine flu epidemic the working hours of the Health Center will remain the same, its Director Dr. Ventsislav Daskalov said. "There's no need to extend the working hours because I am actually answering the phone 24 hours [a day], seven days a week. So if some emergency arises [...], I am on the phone, me or the nurse," he added.

According to the AUBG student handbook, Daskalov can be reached at +359 (73) 888-207, or +359 (88) 736-1454. Health Center Nurse Veneta Petkova can be reached at +359 (73) 888-210, or +359 (88) 9526-894.