After federal officials confirmed the first Arizona case of the swine flu on Wednesday, Director of Campus Health Services Allan Markus said the disease’s spread to Phoenix means very little for ASU.

“That fact that it is here makes no difference,” Markus said. “What really matters is how easily it can spread and how severe the disease is, which we still don’t know much about.”

Markus said swine flu shouldn’t cause more panic than regular illness.

“During the regular flu season, there wasn’t panic or worry,” Markus said.

Markus serves on the University’s Pandemic Flu Executive Committee, which was established as a precaution in 2006. The group, which is now meeting daily instead of monthly, has representatives from several campus groups, including the ASU police department, Environmental Health and Safety, the Biodesign Institute and Residential Life.

Virgil Renzulli, vice president of public policy at ASU, said the
University plans to make decisions as the situation changes.

“We have to evaluate just how severe the situation is,” he said. “We can’t close campus just as a precaution. That would be extremely disruptive.”

On Wednesday afternoon the World Health Organization raised the flu-alert level from four to five, its second-highest level. A class-five phase is considered to be widespread human infection, a warning that global outbreak of the disease is pending.

“That just measures how far it has spread,” Markus said. “It doesn’t change our plans in any way.”

Renzulli said the University conducted a pandemic-flu drill about a year ago.

“If you haven’t been through it, you don’t know what the best decisions are,” he said. “The bottom line is that we’ll have to evaluate the situation when it happens and as it develops.”

Renzulli said ASU communicates with the White House daily about logistical information for President Barack Obama’s visit but hasn’t
discussed swine flu.

“The visit is still 14 or 15 days out, and it’s just too early to make any judgment,” Renzulli said, adding that ASU administration doesn’t think that swine flu will affect Obama’s visit in any way. “Even if there was a localized outbreak we would go through with commencement.”

ASU Health Services is recommending students avoid any nonessential travel to Mexico for at least the next 48 to 72 hours “until more data is available on the scope and severity of the outbreak,” according to a information put out by Environmental Health and Safety.

Health Services has not made any recommendations about students studying abroad this summer but will in the future, Markus said.

“We’ll have to analyze the information as it comes out,” Markus said. “We don’t want to jump the gun by telling anyone to cancel anything.”
ASU spokeswoman Julie Newberg said the University is stressing good hygiene now more than ever.

“It’s simple stuff really,” she said. “Wash your hand a lot, cough or sneeze into your arm instead of into the open air. This is no time to spread germs.”

Markus said ASU is also prepared — it bought enough antiviral treatments for 1,000 people last year.

“We purchased them from the state in case anything like this was ever to happen,” he said.

Because the swine flu hasn’t yet proven to be more dangerous than regular influenza, students shouldn’t feel forced to run to the doctor if they have minor symptoms, Markus said.

“If they would not have seen a physician without knowing about the swine flu, then they don’t have to come in now,” he said, adding that Campus Health Services is readily available to give students information or discuss concerns.

Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu.