The number of Ball State University students with "probable" cases of swine flu grew to three Wednesday, Kent Bullis, director of the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, said.
Bullis said the Center for Disease Control and Prevention told Ball State the students tested positive for Influenza A, a virus that is the H1N1 pandemic strain in 98 percent of patients.
The university has also reported six other cases of students that have influenza-like symptoms to the CDC, but have not tested positive, Bullis said.
The first probable case was reported the week before classes started, the second was reported the first week of classes and the latest case was reported Wednesday, he said.
Bullis said he has to report any cases of influenza-like symptoms weekly to the CDC.
The director also said there may be other students who have probable cases of the virus, but they were tested by outside health institutions instead of the Health Center.
Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications Tony Proudfoot said these students fall under three categories: those who have a probable case of the virus that the university knows about, those who have influenza-like symptoms and the university doesn't know if they're positive for Influenza A, and those with influenza-like symptoms who are staying at home and have battled the disease on their own.
With this in mind, Bullis said the state stopped testing for H1N1 this summer after realizing the virus is widespread and further testing would amount to a waste of resources. He said the Health Center still tests for Influenza A, but the tests are only about 30 percent accurate. Bullis said he has advised personnel at the Health Center not to use the test unless the situation would call for it, such as a student strongly wanting to be tested.
"At this point in time, it's not likely that we'll see any more confirmed cases of H1N1 because they just aren't testing for it," Bullis said.
Ball State is recommending students with probable cases of the virus to return home until they feel well enough to return, in accordance with CDC regulations, Kay Bales, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said.
Students with possible cases are given the university recommendations by their doctor at the Health Center, Bullis said.
However, Bales understands some students with influenza-like symptoms and probable cases cannot return home, so they are asked to self-isolate themselves to control the spread.
In that situation, students are asked to inform their roommate and residence hall staff so they can take any precautions and access the proper information, Bales said. The Health Center is also giving out free antiviral masks to students, she added.
Bales said the university has asked professors to understand students may need to be away from class for a few days to recover from the virus. Also, students with any problems can use various university channels, such as the Office of Student Affairs, to address the situation, Bales said.
Proudfoot said that as the numbers climb and flu season advances, the university will alert students if they feel students need to change their behaviors about the virus and its spread, but not with every new case.
"When we present new information of how we want students to act, we want students to react immediately," Proudfoot said. "While it may be the severity or the rate or the number of cases may be different in other places, there are any number of dimensions, but the one thing they are all going to circle around is behavior and how we want to influence behavior as a matter of public health."
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