KNOXVILLE – Seven high school students attending the Tennessee Governor’s Schools for the Sciences and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have an influenza-like illness and are being sent home. Other campers residing in the same residence hall have been advised to take precautions and watch for symptoms.
“The students have very mild illnesses — fever, sore throat and cough — and have been tested for the H1N1 virus. Those results won’t be known for several days. However, in an abundance of caution and in an attempt to isolate the illness, we made the decision to send them home,” said Jim Boyle, director of UT’s Student Health Service.
The students, ages 16 and 17, whose hometowns were not released, became ill late Tuesday and on Wednesday. Flu tests have been done and sent to the state for analysis.
Sick students have been asked to wear masks, stay at least six feet away from other people and refrain from sharing food and other items.
About 127 students are attending the Governor’s Schools, which began June 7 and runs through July 11. The campers are housed in Morrill Hall.
Campus and health officials met with Governor’s School staff Wednesday night to tell them about the situation. The campers and their parents have been being notified.
Morrill Hall also houses 11 students attending a diving camp and a few staff members from a basketball camp. They also have been notified of the situation.
H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, is a specialized strain of the flu virus. It is a strain not previously present in the human population, and it does not occur on a seasonal cycle.
Symptoms of H1N1 flu are the same as those related to the normal seasonal flu.
For more information on H1N1, see http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/.
Founded in 1985, the Governor’s School program provides a venue for Tennessee’s best and brightest high school students to spend five weeks in a college environment. The School for the Sciences has been hosted at UT Knoxville since its founding. Each program offers students six hours of college credit, as well as programming and experiences that enhance their learning while at the school. For more about the Governor’s Schools, see http://govschool.utk.edu.
C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu)