Wendy Wetzel (left), and Cindy Roth (right), in an examination room at Fronske Health Center on NAU's campus. Fronske will be the dedicated H1N1 vaccine clinic for NAU's campus. (Photo: LeeDa Miller/NAZ Today)

Young men and women at college campuses across the country are among those who are at high-risk for H1N1 influenza because of their age. Medical professionals have come to believe that “older people may possess at least some immunity to the H1N1 virus from prior exposures,” said Cindy Roth, the nurse manager at Fronske Health Center. Even though H1N1 is a new virus, there is reason to believe older people were exposed to a similar virus in 1957, making younger people a target for H1N1 said Barbara Worgess, spokesperson for the Coconino County Health Department.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, as of Oct. 31st, there have been 150 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Coconino County since April of 2009. According to the Coconino County Health Department, 21 of those confirmed cases were people from 17 to 24 years of age.

Since Flagstaff residents are encouraged not to seek medical attention unless their symptoms are severe, the statistics are not comparable to those who are actually sick with the virus. The medical labs would be “overwhelmed if [they] tested everyone who had [influenza] symptoms,” so medical professionals are only testing those whose illness is severe enough for that person to be hospitalized, said Worgess. Because this age group is at highter risk for H1N1 than the regular flu, there are far more young people infected by the virus than what statistics are showing. “It’s a lot more than the numbers would indicate,” said Worgess.

Dorfman, a 20-year-old English major at NAU and a student worker at Fronske Health Center, never tested for the H1N1 virus when she became ill in October, but “without the tests [her doctor] was very sure that is what [she] had,” she said. Being a student worker at Fronske helped Dorfman to understand and prepare herself for the virus. Without the H1N1 vaccination, she was able to overcome the virus with “lots of sleep, eating well and lots and lots of fluids,” Dorfman said.

There are many factors that complicate the spread of the H1N1 virus among college students. “This age group tends to live together, study together, play together, eat together and party together,” said Roth. Like the common influenza virus, H1N1 is highly contagious and can be contracted by coming into contact with germs in the air produced by sneezing and coughing or by touching a surface that has been contaminated.

Being on college campuses and living in close proximity with other people poses a problem for students at NAU. “You can’t really get away from people while you’re on campus so you have to get sick,” said Dorfman.

There is no sure immunity to the virus for any age group, Worgess said. “Everybody is susceptible to it.”

According to Worgess, the only defense against H1N1 is vaccination and practicing public health and sanitary guidelines. Without an adequate amount of vaccine for everyone in Flagstaff, and the small amount that is available going to priority groups, everyone, including students, is urged to practice strict sanitary guidelines to prevent the spread of H1N1. Washing your hands frequently and covering your cough will substantially decrease the risk of spreading the virus. “Hand-sanitizer dispensers [have been placed] in buildings all over campus to help foster the hand-washing behavior that is so useful,” said Roth.

“Frequent hand washing is the single most important way to prevent spreading or getting flu from someone who is unaware that they are contagious,” said Roth.

Fronske and Residence Life worked together to develop an educational campaign about influenza and tips on prevention, treatment and when to seek medical attention. Information is posted on NAU’s campus telling students to “wash your hands, cover your cough with your elbow…stay home if you’re sick, [and] seek medical attention for severe symptoms,” said Roth. When enough vaccine is available for everyone, the Coconino County Health Department will be providing vaccine through Fronske Health Center. “We’ll make sure it gets to campus,” said Worgess. There is no set date for the vaccine to arrive in Flagstaff, but the health department is hopeful that it will be in November.

After contracting the virus, a person is symptom-free after 24 hours of not having a fever. “If you are sick with flu-like symptoms, stay home,” said Worgess. If someone does find their symptoms becoming more severe, then it is a good idea to seek medical attention. “There is no need to risk complications, if you think you are getting…sick[er,] than you should see someone,” said Dorfman.

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On the net:

CDC H1N1 Resources for Colleges and Universities

Arizona Dept. of Health Services H1N1 Statistics

Organizers of Fit Kids of Arizona pose in a group picture. (Photo: NAZ Today)

FLAGSTAFF (NAZ Today) – With a steady, upward trend in childhood obesity and a life expectancy for America’s future adults declining, Fit Kids of Arizona is stepping in to help secure a healthy lifestyle for the upcoming generation.

Knowing many American children will live a shorter and lower quality of life than generations before has motivated organizations worldwide to do something about obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obese children are at risk for developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other factors associated with heart disease.

On Jan. 27, 2009, Fit Kids of Arizona was opened by the Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) in order to prevent childhood obesity and to instill healthy lifestyle choices into America’s future. NAH is a nonprofit hospital that is subsidizing the program and providing funding that is not being recovered from families or through insurance. “We work to support community outreach efforts and we will not deny anybody care for lack of ability to pay,” said Starla Collins, public relations officer at Flagstaff Medical Center.

With one in three children in the United States overweight or obese, Fit Kids of Arizona is looking to prevent the problem in the future. “We don’t want anybody to have the problems of obesity so we really want to stop it before it occurs,” said Hernandez, program manager. Because the problem of obesity has hit epidemic proportions, the generation of children growing up now will “have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.” The program’s goal is to catch the problem early “because when it’s a problem in kids it’s going to stay a problem in adults,” said Hernandez. By working with children early in life, obesity can be addressed through teaching children good lifestyle and behavioral choices like regular mealtime, controlling food intake and planning meals. These healthy nutrition habits often continue into adulthood.

“Our focus is not weight loss,” said Hernandez but teaching kids how to make healthy food choices, enjoy physical activity and decrease the amount of time kids spend in front of the television.

Although most of their efforts are focused on working with the clinic, the Fit Kids program is looking for ways to work within the school district and after-school programs to bring in more nutritional education “by partnering with the schools and working some of that into the mandated curriculum,” said Hernandez. Family and Community Teaming for Students (FACTS) is an after-school program that works with children from kindergarten through sixth grade in Flagstaff. The Fit Kids program plans to partner with FACTS in the future in order to target children because “then we are not taking away from the academic day…but we can still reach a large portion of the kids,” said Hernandez.

When it comes to nutritional education, the goal at FACTS is to “educate [kids] on what’s healthy and what is not,” said Melissa Klemp, the assistant coordinator. The program’s faculty is aware of the problem of obesity in children and they work hard “to keep their children active,” said Klemp. Children under the care of FACTS are not allowed to sit in front of the television or play video games but are encouraged to go outside and play. FACTS participates in the Child & Adult Care Food Program that works to improve day care facilities with nutritional meal plans and snacks that contain no more than two high sugars and two high fats while watching serving size portions.

The Fit Kids of Arizona has recently partnered with affiliates like Snowbowl and Summit Gymnastics, to offer children physical activities through the program. On Friday, Sept. 25^th, Fit Kids of Arizona will be taking a field trip to Summit Gymnastics to “just go and play,” said Hernandez. The program will continue to develop community relationships with other organizations that will add to the overall success of promoting a healthier lifestyle for America’s future adults.

To get involved in the Fit Kids for Arizona program, families need a referral from their primary care doctor. A referral from a doctor or primary caregiver will include an examination of the body mass index (BMI), a number calculated from the child’s height and weight.