Flu Prevention Information for Students and Family Members

Office of the President, August 26, 2009

Dear Students and Family Members,

As you may know, flu can be spread easily from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to prevent the spread of flu at Stony Brook University, but we need your help.

We are working closely with the New York State Department of Health and Suffolk County Department of Health Services to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning our campus community. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.

For now, we are doing everything we can to keep Stony Brook University operating as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help:

• Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol‐based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Practice respiratory etiquette by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth; germs are spread this way.
• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. A fever is a temperature taken with a thermometer that is equal to or greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. Look for possible signs of fever including the person who feels very warm, has a flushed appearance, or is sweating or shivering.
• Maintain supplies of personal hygiene products including tissues, alcohol based hand cleaners, etc.
• Stay home if you have flu or flulike illness for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever or signs of a fever. This should be determined without the use of fever‐reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).
• Talk with your health care providers about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu. If you are at higher risk for flu complications from 2009 H1N1 flu, you should consider getting the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. People at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 flu complications include pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes). For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm.

For more information about flu in our community and what our institution is doing, visit www.stonybrook.edu/sb/emergency/h1n1. You can check www.twitter.com/sbuem for the latest updates and any additional changes to our institution’s strategy to prevent the spread of flu on our campus. By electing to follow this twitter, you will automatically receive any updates via twitter.

For health information for students studying abroad or traveling internationally visit www.cdc.gov/travel

For the most up‐to‐date general information about the flu, visit www.flu.gov, or call 1‐800‐CDC‐INFO (232‐4636).

Sincerely,

Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D.

President

Stony Brook, New York 11794-0701, TEL: 631.632.6265 FAX: 631.632.6621

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