Swine flu hits campus again

The university's third suspected case of swine flu broke out on the campus yesterday, a university vice president said.

Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement said the victim has left campus, though she would not confirm the person's name or connection to the university.

Several students said the victim was an incoming freshman living in Cumberland Hall who was a part of the Scholastic Transitions Educational Program, a four-week institute to prepare students for the academic rigors of college.

The students said the program was cut two days short in response to the illness.

Once thought to be potentially deadly, the swine flu - known officially as the H1N1 virus - is now commonly compared to the seasonal flu. Clement stressed the swine flu victim did not pose a health threat to peers, and when the fall semester starts, she said the campus will ramp up an educational campaign that stresses personal hygiene and responsibility.

"We've go to anticipate that there's going to be more flu in the fall," she said. "People have to wash their hands. When people are sick, they have to stay home."

She said the university will also be adding more hand sanitizer dispensers in campus buildings.

The swine flu case comes ten days after a group of state high school students sponsored by the university's Confucius Center were quarantined in China for the virus and about a month since the first two cases appeared on the campus.

The case also comes as the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore will take the lead on testing a swine flu vaccine next month.

Eight centers nationwide will participate in clinical trials sponsored by the National Institute of Health to test an H1N1 virus vaccine. The trial will test both a high dose and a standard dose of the vaccine on 200 young adults, 200 elderly adults and 600 children ages six months to 18 years old.

"We're going to randomize people to receive either a high dose or a standard dose of vaccine, and they're going to receive two doses of the vaccine separated by 21 days," said Dr. Wilbur Chen, assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported as of July 24 that there have been four deaths in the state associated with the H1N1 virus. They also reported 766 confirmed cases of the virus in the state, though they estimate this is only a fraction of the total statewide cases that go untested because of minor symptoms that clear up before they are reported.

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Staff writer Rich Abdill contributed to this report.