N.Y. College Student Dies of H1N1

A Cornell University student, among 520 diagnosed with influenza-type illness in the past three weeks, died Friday of complications related to swine flu, university officials said.

President David Skorton released a statement Friday evening saying Warren J. Schor, a 20-year-old economics and management major from Clinton Corners, N.Y., died at a hospital.

CBS Station WCBS reports Schor was a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He lived on campus with his classmates at the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity house.

WCBS reports that, according to the Medical Center, the Cornell sophomore suffered from an underlying medical condition, but due to a request from the family, did not say what the condition was.

Schor died nine days after he went to the hospital.

CBSNews.com Special Report: The H1N1 Threat

Cornell spokesman Thomas Bruce said the university has been working closely with state and federal health agencies and has been aggressive in reaching out to students and informing them of precautions they should follow to limit the flu's spread.

The university's health service has extended its hours for seeing students and has been taking calls from them around the clock, he said.

In a message to students on the university's Web site, campus health officials said most students who have gone to the campus infirmary with flu symptoms have had mild illness and recovered fully. They advised students with flu symptoms to stay in their rooms and at least 6 feet away from roommates until they've been fever-free for 24 hours.

The university has nearly 20,000 students.

Government health officials said Friday that influenza is circulating unusually early this year with cases in all 50 states - nearly all the swine flu variety.

A new poll from Consumer Reports' National Research Center finds more Americans are concerned about a potential outbreak of the H1N1 virus (67%) than about a terrorist attack in the United States (62%).

Dr. Anne Schuchat, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a briefing in Washington, D.C., that cases are mainly occurring in children and young adults. She said H1N1 swine flu broke out in the spring and never went away.

Supplies of swine flu vaccine are expected to be available in mid-October, and testing shows it works with a single dose and takes effect rapidly.

In the United States, it is estimated 36,000 people die every year from ordinary seasonal flu, most often the elderly and the very young. Roughly 200,000 are hospitalized because of flu complications.

Appearing on CBS' "Early Show," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said parents need not be overly worried about their children away at schools, where the spread of influenza has been dramatic.

"This particular flu, this pandemic flu virus that has been circulating in the spring and is now back in the schools. is a virus that's generally a mild disease, but it preferentially infects young individuals. And then, every once in a while, rarely, but it tragically happens, you get someone who gets seriously ill and who dies like that student.

"That's the reason why the whole idea of getting the vaccine to people who need it, particularly young people and people and others at high risk like pregnant women is very, very important."

"Are you more concerned now than you were a month ago?" asked "Early Show" anchor Chris Wragge.

"No, I'm less concerned, because we have a vaccine that works with one dose, which is very good."