Flu, colds taking toll on Canton college students

Canton's colleges have been hit hard by an influenza outbreak recently, while Potsdam campuses are on track so far to have a normal number of cases of the virus this season.

Classes have been emptier lately at St. Lawrence University, Canton, where a stomach bug, colds and the flu are going around.

"This has been worse than the last five years I've been here. We're seeing about three different viruses hitting at the same time," said Patricia A. Ellis, SLU's director of health and counseling services. "We've got a lot of sick students. First they get one, then they get the next. They can't get a break."

The influenza cases on Canton campuses are pretty typical, in terms of symptoms, nurses said. Most infected students are experiencing the dry coughs, aches, sore throats and high fever that are characteristic of the illness.

"This has been one of the busiest weeks I can remember — and I've been here 21 years — in my time here," said Patricia A. Todd, director of health services at SUNY Canton. "This year it really seemed to all happen at once. We've been writing a lot of prescriptions for cough syrup and trying to keep students out of class when they're sick."

Mrs. Ellis said that she is starting to treat some students who are coming down with pneumonia and sinus infections after suffering through the flu.

Both she and Ms. Todd also have seen an uptick in the number of patients coming through their offices with colds and a gastrointestinal virus that lasts a couple of days.

"We're doing a lot of handwashing stations and asking people to cover their cough and keep germs to themselves," Mrs. Ellis said. "They come back from Christmas break from all over the country, and they bring viruses with them. On top of that, students don't get as much sleep as they should, so their immune systems are low, and they have communal dining, bathroom and living areas. So it's a perfect environment for this to spread."

Faculty and staff haven't escaped the viruses, either, Mrs. Ellis and Ms. Todd said, but they don't know how much college employees have been affected because they treat only students.

The Canton College nurse practitioners hope that students will remember the misery of the illness next fall when they offer free flu shots again. There was a slight decline in the number of SLU students who took advantage of the flu vaccine this year, Mrs. Ellis said.

Dr. Richard E. Moose, director of student health services at SUNY Potsdam, said that even though he has had a stream of patients with flu symptoms come through his office recently, the first person tested positive for the virus this week.

"We're still on the verge here. It's pretty normal to get the flu this time of year," he said. "It's pretty typical in terms of onset so far. We haven't seen a crushing load."

Michael P. Griffin, spokesman for Clarkson University, Potsdam, said that about a third of the 400 patients who have been through the college's health center this semester have complained of flu, cold or stomach bug symptoms.