Campuses feel SARS threat: study-abroad programs: better safe than sorry - Update

University Business, May, 2003 by Nicole Rivard

With headlines like "Mystery Illness on the Move" and "Will SARS Strike Here?" splashed all over newspapers and magazines, it's no wonder college and university administrators are concerned about the safety of their students traveling abroad. By late April, the pneumonia-like SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)--with its symptoms of high fever, headache and body aches, dry cough, and shortness of breath--had infected almost 4,290 people in 19 countries (including 39 in the U.S.) and killed at least 251. What is most frightening about SARS is the mystery of exactly how it spreads, how long its incubation period lasts, and when or if a vaccine will ever be available.

"Colleges should not be alarmed; however, they should be aware, cautious, and plan accordingly," says James Turner, director of Student Health at the University of Virginia and chair of the American College Health Association's Vaccine Preventable Disease Task Force.

Specifically, Turner says that campus health providers should be learning about the disease and the criteria for suspected cases from the World Health Organization (www.who.int) and the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), as welt as planning how to handle suspected cases in terms of hospitalization, treatment, and isolation. He adds that student health centers should be working with their local hospitals and health departments to deal with any SARS threats.

Turner also suggests that campus health providers assist study-abroad programs in determining whether or not to cancel such programs to China and Hong Kong. Syracuse University was one of the first schools to cut short its program in Hong Kong; arrangements were made for students to return home in early April. At Kent State University, administrators are leaving the decision of whether to stay or return home, to students who are in the midst of a semester-long program at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

"Unless these study-abroad programs are truly 'essential,' they should be postponed indefinitely or canceled," Turner advises.

Students returning from traveling abroad should be told to inform health care providers of their recent travel or exposure, and seek medical care immediately if symptoms of SARS develop.

This "better safe than sorry" attitude is being exercised at University of Virginia. One of the 35 students from the school who had been traveling in China and Hong Kong March 3-17 came to the student health center three days after she returned because she was concerned about a fever and cough. The student was immediately hospitalized for three days and was later discharged after a culture showed she had the flu, not SARS. The other 34 students were informed of the situation, as well as symptoms to look for, and were given instructions on getting medical care. None had developed any indicated symptoms, and all remain well.