Photo illustration by CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin
John Tapia-Grassi sneezes in front of Kerckhoff
Monday afternoon.
By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Staff
The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, achy, stuffy head,
fever-inducing disease ““ that kills 20,000 people a year
““ is back.
Third-year physiological sciences student Nidhi Gupta woke up
with a sore throat on Friday, which developed into the flu.
“I feel awful, I have a cough and my voice sounds
funny,” Gupta said. “I’m all phlegmy.”
Health care officials recommend that students like Gupta rest
and take liquids.
“I would say the most important piece of advice would be
to drink lots of fluids ““ it’s the most basic
thing,” said Ann Brooks, nurse practitioner for the Arthur
Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.
Because patients with the flu usually have a fever, a lot of
water in the body is burned off and must be replaced. Brooks also
recommends sugar intake to regain energy.
“Those who have the flu can have at the least some stirred
down (uncarbonated) soda,” she said.
Viral medications, such as Tamiflu, which was approved by the
FDA in October 1999, are also available by prescription.
While most people recover from the flu within two weeks, 20,000
a year die from its complications, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Influenza has the potential to lead to severe viral pneumonia
and bacterial pneumonia.
“Usually, the flu just makes you feel lousy with fever,
fatigue and bad muscle ache,” said Dr. David Pegues,
associate clinical professor of medicine. “But in other
cases, some poor old person who gets the virus may develop a
bacterial infection and then die of it ““ it’s a
body-wide illness, and it really wipes you out.”
In places where there is limited access to the flu vaccine and
medication, influenza can lead to death.
“This probably happens in lower economic areas where
people do not have access and where there are so many people that
the flu is easily spread,” said Michelle Pearson, director of
ancillary services at the Ashe Center.
According to physicians, the best way to prevent getting the flu
is to take the vaccine.
“Aside from good hand washing, not sharing glasses and
napkins, the best way to prevent getting the flu is to take the
vaccine,” said Melba Veza, program specialist of the L.A.
County Health Department.
But because the flu vaccine takes three weeks to work, health
care officials advise taking it earlier in November.
Students were able to get free flu injections on time through
three fairs, last quarter, with each fair giving out 200 free
doses.
In the second year the center offered free vaccinations, Pearson
saw a good turnout.
“It was probably the only line students did not mind
waiting for,” Pearson said. “It was kind of like
waiting in a party line; students would wait a half an hour to get
this wonderful shot.”
For third-year biochemistry student Khanh Ngo, the flu shot
prevented a lot of wasted sick time.
“I didn’t get it last year because I was misinformed
that the vaccine can lead to symptoms of the flu,” she said.
“Last year, I was sick a lot, but this year I am really
healthy.”
The vaccine, which is made up of three strains of the virus and
is grown in chicken eggs, was in short supply because of problems
in growing one of the three strains.
“We didn’t have the vaccine until late
November,” Pegues said. “The flu season usually starts
in late November or early December and begins to peter out in
March.”
The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center ordered their
supply of flu vaccine before there was a concern for a
shortage.
“We were fortunate to get it early because places like the
medical center did not have it (in time),” Pearson said.
“We’re proud of ourselves for thinking
ahead.”
According to both the L.A. County Department of Health and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this season has been
slower than usual.
“While we have had some admissions to the hospital with
severe influenza, the bottom line is that we have not encountered a
lot of problems in the United States and in UCLA,” Pegues
said.
Officials at the center said it was too early to tell if this
year’s season was slower than usual at UCLA.
But students in the dorms did seem less affected by the virus
compared to fall quarter.
“I have only been getting a couple of encounters compared
to four last quarter,” said second-year psychobiology student
Amit Shah, a student health advocate in Sunset Village.
Shah said he noticed more people coming in when it was
raining.
“I have a feeling the flu season is a little less right
now but will increase when there is either more rain or as spring
approaches and there is more pollen and such in the air,” he
said.