Colleges Battle to Contain H1N1 Virus

(CBS)  At Washington State's main campus, back to school means back to bed. The H1N1 virus has hit two thousand students, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

"I woke up with a fever and could barely breathe because my chest hurt so bad," said Ashley Dunn, a freshman.

On Dunn's floor, six women have the virus. The school is urging sick kids to stay in their rooms, but Dunn said that people keep going to class.

America's collegiate sick-out has schools scrambling to keep up. Schools like the University of Kansas and Florida state have food drops for sick students. In Cincinnati, Xavier banned large gathering through Labor Day. Stillman College in Alabama canceled Saturday's season-opening football game.

California's Pomona College has a new mandatory course for freshmen: the proper way to sneeze and cough (the answer: into one's sleeve).

"I share a bathroom with seven other guys," said Alex Efron, a Pomona student. "That's a bit of a concern for me."

CBSNews.com Special Report: H1N1

Hardest hit by the virus? Campuses in the Northwest and Southeast, like Emory University in Atlanta.

Students here call one dorm "Club Swine."

It's a dorm just for flu victims - students check themselves in voluntarily, and half the school's 220 H1N1 cases have come here to rest, recover, and help slow the spread of the virus.

"We knew we were going into a flu season without our students, faculty and staff being vaccinated," said Dr. Michael Huey, the Emory Student Health Director.

Emory was all set to tear down this old dorm, but saved it just in case the H1N1 virus hit the campus hard later in the year. Planning paid off.

In Washington D.C., American University reached into its post Sept. 11 emergency plan. Professors have to learn to lecture over the Internet in case the virus empties their classrooms.

Against this threat, campuses are on their own. They hope the H1N1 vaccine will help when it arrives late next month.

[jsf14]

Why not designate some bathrooms flu sufferers only? And who's to pick up the trash from the rooms of flu sufferers -- all those used tissues and disposable cups for consuming plenty of liquids? Are universities organizing volunteers among those who've had this flu and recovered?

[hurleyvision]

It appears that swine flu is attacking mostly children and young adults. Most people under age 40 did not get a smallpox vaccination as the WHO recalled all of the vaccine except for some military use in the early 1970's. Back when the vaccine was used, some people refused to be vaccinated and in many cases the vaccinations did not "take." So, I would like for some university or other agency to check to see how many swine flu victims over age 40 got a successful smallpox vaccination. And, news reports tell that bird flu victims have been mostly children and young adults. Most HIV/AIDS victims did not get a smallpox vaccination. There are some cases of people who were HIV Positive before they joined the military. For those unlucky few, getting a smallpox vaccination was bad news. For two centuries there was an attempt to give smallpox vaccinations to as many people as possible to eradicate a horrible disease. Did people mutate slightly so that those who did not get a vaccination are subject to more diseases than those who did get a smallpox vaccination?

[jsf14]

You seem to misunderstand mutation. In any case it is possible that the age distribution of the new H1N1 is affect by what types of flu older people had in the 1950s (rather than whether they were vaccinated against smallpox).

[j364]

Everyone in my family of 5 has been sick with the flu except me. I'm the only one who had a smallpox vaccination. They all had high fevers and coughs that lasted 4-6 days. I've had a cold and cough, but no fever and much less ill.