Influenza

Flu viruses are commonly spread when the infected person coughs or sneezes into the air in proximity to others. You can also be infected by touching contaminated surfaces or objects, such as keyboards, phones, doorknobs, or personal care items and then touching your mouth, eyes or nose. The Influenza virus remains alive on surfaces for 2 to 8 hours.

To keep from getting sick with the flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends:

• Hand washing is the best, single way to avoid the spread of infection. Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed in the entrances of all campus buildings and in the computers labs located in Goulet, Poisson, Academic Resource Center, and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.
• Cover 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.
• Get vaccinated. Talk to your health care provider to find out if you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu. A vaccine clinic for the seasonal flu will be held on campus.
• Encourage sick people to stay at home or in their residence except to speak to a health care provider about whether they have the flu, appropriate treatment, and what actions to take if they have severe symptoms. They should stay home until they are free of fever for at least 24 hours.
• Stay at least six feet away from infected people, or wear a face mask while in their presence.
• Establish regular schedules for frequent cleaning of commonly touched surfaces, including doorknobs, handrails, remote controls, keyboards, telephones, chairs, and desks. Use disinfectant wipes for cleaning.

The majority of Flu cases will manifest as a relatively mild, benign illness. Symptoms of Influenza are: fever or chills AND cough or sore throat, also runny nose, body aches, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. We urge all students to take these symptoms seriously and act immediately when they first experience them. It is a matter of both personal well being and public health.

Health Services, under the direction of the CDC, will not test affected students; therefore, those seen on campus will not have a definitive diagnosis. They will nonetheless be expected to self-isolate until their fever has passed for 24 hours without the aid of a fever-reducing medication.

Students who live in proximity to campus (within 200 miles) and have influenza-like symptoms are asked to recuperate at home off-campus and to remain in isolation until fever-free for 24 hours after stopping fever-reducing medications. Students, as all members of the campus community, are encouraged to obtain a flu shot. Health Services will sponsor a flu clinic yearly.

Students who experience flu-like symptoms 
If you have flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, malaise, body aches), monitor your condition--especially your temperature.

If you have or develop a fever of 99.9 degrees or more, in addition to experiencing flu-like symptoms:

• DO NOT attend classes or other campus activities, including athletic practices or games, meetings and work-study jobs. It is important to distance yourself from others to prevent spreading your illness.
  • If you will miss classes, contact the Academic Dean's Office and your professors individually by e-mail and keep up with some work if you feel well enough.
• Call or visit Health Services (603) 641-7028; they will provide special instructions applicable to your symptoms and medical history.
  • Health Services hours are: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 12 to 4 p.m.
  • If Health Services is closed, you can  go to Catholic Medical Center-Emergency Department for assessment
  • Health Services can assist you in notifying the Academic Dean to officially document your illness
• Call your RA or Resident Director to alert them of your illness. They have masks and disposable thermometers so you can monitor your fever and prevent the spread of the virus to those around you.

If you live within 200 miles of the college, we ask you to go home.

• Isolation is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of the virus.
• Get a masks are available from Health Services to wear while in transit and disposable thermometers to monitor your temperature.
• Return to campus only after you are fever-free for 24 hours.
• If you are a commuter student, follow the same influenza protocols for all students.
• Contact Health Services, even if you plan to call or visit your primary health care provider. Health Services is monitoring the spread of the virus and can help you communicate our condition to the Office of the Academic Dean.

If you cannot go home, you will need to isolate yourself in your residence hall room or apartment until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.

• Wear a mask as tolerated to minimize spread of the flu-especially when within 6 feet of another person.
• We urge you to wash your hands frequently, hand sanitize after sneezing or coughing, and use good respiratory etiquette, such as coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your elbow or shoulder, and disposing of used tissues immediately.
• You may want to ask others to bring "comfort items" such as tissues, hand sanitizer, a digital thermometer, throat lozenges, and acetaminophen or ibuprofen for aches and fever. All of these items can be purchased at the campus bookstore or at any grocery store or drugstore.
• To order meals, please call Dining Services at (603) 641-7750 between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Dining Services has collaborated with Health Services to created menus that will be palatable and healthful for students suffering from the flu. Please arrange for your roommate or a friend to pick up your meal tray. If you are having difficulty making arrangements for pick-up, you may contact Residence Life for assistance.

Guidelines for residential students WITHOUT flu-like symptoms:

Practice habits to help avoid infection:

• The best and easiest way to prevent getting the flu is to wash your hands frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing, before and after eating, after you shake hands, before you enter a building and as you leave a building. Use soap and water when available and hand sanitizer when not. Carry your own hand sanitizer or use the dispensers that have been installed at the entrances to all buildings on campus. Please encourage others around you to wash their hands as well.
• Try to disinfect your residential area as much as possible. Wash all items shared-mouse pads, pens, pencils and hard surfaces-counter tops, door handles, and door knobs with disinfectant wipes. If you cannot provide your own cleaning products, the Residential Life staff will have some supplies on hand.
• Do not share utensils, towels or other personal items with others, whether they are known to be infected or not.

If your roommate is sick and you prefer to remove yourself from your room, you have the following options:

• You may want to commute to classes from home, if you live close enough to the college (approximately one hour), the off-campus apartments of friends or the home of nearby relatives, until your roommate has been fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medications.
• You may want to temporarily reside with a friend on campus until you feel comfortable returning to your room. The Office of Residential Life may be able to assist you in finding space.
• You may want to consider temporary relocation to a nearby hotel. Saint Anselm College has made arrangements with several local hotels to offer discounted rates. The cost for the hotel stay would be assumed by the student or their family.
• Saint Anselm College does not have on-campus facilities for the isolation students away from the residence hall environment.

If you begin experiencing flu symptoms, immediately begin following the Protocol for Students with Flu-Like Symptoms.

Printer Friendly Version of Student Protocols (PDF/81KB)

Hotel Options for the Healthy

What can be done to help prevent infection?
Follow the prevention guidelines suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities. See prevention tips.

Consider being vaccinated against both the seasonal flu. Health Services will hold a seasonal flu shot clinic.

What to do if you experience flu-like symptoms?
Symptoms of the flu are fever or chills and a cough or sore throat. They may also include a runny nose, body aches, a headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting.

• In the interest of your own health, as well as the health of others, stay home for the duration of your illness and for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever. This should be determined without the use of any fever-reducing medication (e.g., any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).
• Faculty should stay in contact with their department chair and the Office of the Dean; staff with their supervisor. 

Why is it important to stay home until fever-free for 24 hours, even if someone feels well enough to come back to work?

• It is one of the best strategies to protect vulnerable members of our college community, as individuals may still be infectious even though they are feeling better.
• By staying home for the recommended duration, you will help to slow the surge of illness among our population.

Printer Friendly Version of Faculty Protocols (PDF/46KB)

Members of the Saint Anselm College community are encouraged to understand the college's preparations and protocols for dealing with any Influenza outbreak at the college. This information is included within this Web site and includes prevention tips and protocols for recognizing the onset of flu symptoms and limiting its transmission.

The following sites provide additional helpful information on Influenza.

• Flu.gov »
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) »
• New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services »
• World Health Organization (WHO) »