H1N1 concern after student meeting

THERE are concerns more student union officers who attended a training session in Waterford last week may have contracted swine flu after two delegates were confirmed to have the illness.

The delegates, from University of Ulster, left the five-day session at Waterford Institute of Technology on Thursday after complaining of feeling unwell.

However, their swine flu diagnosis was only confirmed at the weekend, by which stage officers from a number of the 23 colleges represented at the conference, which was organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), were also showing flu-like symptoms.

USI president Peter Mannion said a number of people felt run down by the end of the training week, which began on Tuesday and ended on Saturday, although it was not clear if any or all might be suspected swine flu cases. In all, around 100 union officers attended the course.

Two of University College Dublin Student Union’s five full-time officers have been tested since the weekend and, while one was told he did not have the virus, another was awaiting the outcome of the test last night.

At University College Cork (UCC), where five students union officers had been to the Waterford event, medical staff said yesterday that they are investigating a small number of cases of possible swine flu affecting students.

Dr Michael Byrne, head of UCC’s student health department, said lab investigations are under way and the situation is being managed in accordance with HSE guidelines.

“The students’ probable contact with influenza was outside the UCC campus and they have not returned to the campus since becoming unwell. They have not required hospital treatment and they are currently isolated,” he said.

“UCC has a pandemic response team in place, which includes expert members from across the university to implement the recommendations contained in the national pandemic flu plan.”

All colleges, schools and residential educational institutions (including summer colleges, English language colleges, childcare residential units and residential centres for children with learning difficulties or special needs) have received HSE guidelines on prevention and management of swine flu in the past month.

It is unclear if these guidelines are to be revised following the decision to move to the treatment phase of the pandemic.

Medical authorities are now asking people who are not in high-risk groups or who do not have severe symptoms to recover at home by taking plenty of rest, taking paracetamol or ibuprofen, and drinking liquids.

The HSE guidelines to colleges set out a checklist of procedures to deal with the pandemic, including a need to have plans in place for delivery of teaching by remote access, and to make provisions for financial and operational disruption.

About 140,000 full-time students and 20,000 staff will begin returning to the country’s third-level colleges in late September, while 4,000 primary and second-level schools open their doors to 800,000-plus students and 60,000 teachers from late August.