CURRENT INFORMATION ABOUT IUP'S SARS RESPONSE TEAM
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
*
Especially for the IUP Community
* Basic questions about SARS
RELATED IUP POLICIES
PRINTABLE FLYER ABOUT SARS
PRINTABLE FLYER ABOUT SARS, especially
for international travelers
PUBLISHED NEWS STORIES
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CONCERN? Send your e-mail to health-inquiry@iup.edu
IUP RESPONSE TEAM CONCLUDES WORK ADDRESSING ISSUES RELATED TO
SARS
In response to concerns about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),
Indiana University of Pennsylvania‘s SARS Response Team has completed its
charge of developing recommendations regarding prevention and intervention
procedures for the IUP campus.
This group, composed of faculty and administrators, reviewed the
existing policies and updated them to reflect appropriate responses to a
SARS-like illness.
"Fortunately, given the state of
SARS worldwide, and with the World Health Organization’s lifting of alerts
and advisories regarding SARS, the team believes that the threat of SARS to
the University community is not a serious one at this time, so
implementation of these recommendations is not necessary,” said Dr. Rhonda
Luckey, SARS Response Team chair and acting vice president for student
affairs. “The Team has done excellent work, and the guidelines and
recommendations members have developed do offer a general guide for
campus-wide readiness in case of SARS or a SARS-like epidemics in the
future,” she said.
Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were followed
closely by the IUP team as it designed systems to be responsive to the SARS
epidemic. The IUP team also worked closely with the local community to
coordinate policies and planning.
Basic information about SARS was shared with parents and students
during orientation events scheduled for Thursday, May 29 and continuing
throughout the summer months.
“SARS did not pose a serious concern for our immediate IUP community,
but like many other colleges and universities in this country, IUP felt
challenged to identify procedures to respond to public health concerns and
fears about SARS,” said Dr. Luckey
Information about the SARS Response
Team and IUP policies are available at
www.iup.edu/sars.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Frequently
asked questions about IUP’s response to and prevention
of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on campus
Especially
for the IUP community:
Q. How
has the university worked to reduce the risk of SARS?
A. Representatives from a cross section of the IUP
community, the SARS Response Team, developed an
environmental management plan during the summer months
in response to the threat of SARS. In all of its work,
the Team took guidance from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (see CDC website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/hostingarrivals.htm.
The IUP student health
service, Pechan Health Center, followed the recommendations of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, and was prepared to respond in the event
SARS cases are diagnosed by working cooperatively with the local hospital
(Indiana Regional Medical Center) and the local Department of Health.
Q.
What is the university’s plan in the event that SARS cases are diagnosed?
A. Any diagnosed cases of SARS will be managed by the IUP student health
center (Pechan Health Center)
through the recommendations of the Infection Control personnel at the local
hospital (Indiana Regional Medical Center) and the local Department of
Health. If there is a reason for the university community to be concerned
about a case of SARS the local Department of Health and the University would
work collaborative to communicate all necessary information to students,
faculty and staff.
Q. What should students do
if they have a roommate who has traveled internationally, even though the
travel advisories have been lifted?
A. Exposure to someone who is from or has traveled to the designated areas
does not necessarily put a person at risk for SARS. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), persons exposed to SARS are not
considered infectious until the onset of symptoms. Also, only certain
designated cities and countries are included in the CDC’s case definition.
If your roommate has traveled to one of the designated areas but is not ill,
there is no need to be concerned. If your friend or neighbor is from one of
these designated areas but has not been to one of these areas in the past
10-days, they are not at risk of SARS. SARS is not caused by being from a
particular area of the world. SARS is a virus; contracting SARS is not
related to country-of-origin. In order to contract SARS you must come into
contact with the virus that causes the disease.
Q. I am a student with plans to
travel to areas that were affected for either personal or academic
purposes. What should I do?
A. Travel decisions are
a personal choice. Refer to
http://travel.state.gov for
the most up-to-date Travel Warnings. In addition, please consult the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention website at
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/travel.htm
for updated travel advisories and information.
Q.
Were the unions involved with the development of the SARS Team
recommendations?
A. The SARS Team consists of 15 faculty, staff and management employees.
All union representatives were informed of the SARS Team in June, 2003 and
were informed of the approved recommendations of the President in August,
2003.
General questions about
SARS:
Q. What should
someone who has visited or is from a SARS affected area do if they become
ill? Are there any special guidelines for seeking medical attention?
A. Yes. If
someone who recently traveled to one of the affected areas has symptoms of SARS (fever, cough, difficulty
breathing) they should contact a health care professional immediately. If
he or she is staying at a hotel, they should stay in their room and call for
emergency medical help by dialing 9-1-1 (follow the directions printed on or near the hotel telephone
about calling “911”).
If the person is staying in a private home or room, they should should stay
in the home or room and call for emergency medical help by dialing 9-1-1. When the emergency operator answers the telephone
it is important that the following information is shared:
Provide the travel
history about the person who is sick;
State the symptoms of
the person who is sick; and
Inform the emergency
operator if the person who is sick came into contact with any individual(s)
who were diagnosed with SARS or who had symptoms of SARS (fever, cough,
difficulty breathing) while they were in one of the countries classified by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health
Organization as SARS affected areas (see listing at the CDC website:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/.
Follow
the directions of the person who answers the telephone.
Q. How can I get current
information related to SARS?
A. The most up-to-date information is available at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention website at
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/.
Use these links
for up-to-date information about Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
travel advisories
and
travel
alerts.
Contact
Information:
Pechan Health
Center (724) 357-6475
Department of
Health (724) 357-2995
Indiana Regional
Medical Center (724) 357-7000
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov
World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/ |
