Flu strikes SPU, nation

By GREG PIPER, Assistant News Editor

Published: January 19, 2000

Sophomore Nate Miller coughs and slumps on his bed, propped against the wall. He has a fever, body aches, stuffy nose and chest congestion.

His friend Katharine Murer, a nursing student, sits across the bed from him. She is taking care of Miller while he is ill.

"I've been in bed since 4 p.m. [Monday]," he said. "I first started feeling bad Sunday."

Miller decided to drive to Canada with a few friends Sunday at 1 a.m., then they slept in a park.

It snowed two inches overnight.

Miller thinks that he caught the flu from that incident, as well as from overexertion.

"I've been very active, so I haven't given my body a lot of rest," Miller said.

Seattle Pacific University students are suffering along with Washington state, the United States and the world during an earlier-than-expected flu season.

The first substantial cases were reported in California and Arizona mid-December, and hospitals around the country have been struggling to accommodate an explosion of flu-infected patients, according to the Associated Press.

Washington state's flu season started about a week or two early -- it usually lasts from January through February -- but is otherwise normal, said Phyllis Shoemaker of the state Department of Health in the Seattle Times.

Many students believe that their illnesses came from others in their residence halls or from family over the holiday break.

Freshman Chris Cohen, who lives in Hill Hall, thinks that he has caught the flu a few times since school started. He has had chest congestion, intestinal problems, vomiting, body aches and a 104 degree fever.

"All these people in the dorm" contributed to his illness, Cohen said. "Just using the same facilities" and making contact with sick people were other factors.

Sophomore Jennie Morris caught the flu about a week ago from a girl on her floor. She had an upset stomach, headaches, bodyaches, runny nose, coughing, congestion, and lightheadedness.

"It was like dominos," she said. "We've been borrowing each other's cough medicine and throat lozenges."

Some students think they might have become sick from going between two different climates.

Freshman Ryan Huffman caught the flu over the holiday break. He is from Kalispell, Mont., which has a drier environment and a higher elevation than Seattle.

"Probably going from a different environment to something else" contributed to his illness, Huffman said. In addition, there were a lot of men sick at work, and he also took care of his sick mother while home.

"Just coming up here from Kansas" and the subsequent climate change led to his flu, sophomore Richard Blair said.

"The biggest transmission of germs is hand-to-hand, hand-to-mouth, and hand-to-object," said Jean Brown, nurse manager for Health Services. "We wash pens and pencils on a regular basis [in the health center]," as well as telephone receivers and other shared objects, she said.

Some offices around campus are doing the same, and it's not a bad idea for students either, according to Brown.

"Students can do that in the dorms also," she said. "Soap and water are very effective in removing germs."

Flu season lasts until about March, so protection is still a good idea, according to Brown. "I still have some [flu shots] left; it's not too late to get them," she said.

Flu and other health statistics are generally compiled once each quarter, so statistics from this quarter will not be ready until spring, Brown said.

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