H1N1 Continues To Make The Rounds

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Oct 12, 2009 7:20PM

It's cold outside so that's got folks thinking about cold-weather illnesses already, chief among them H1N1 aka swine flu. Extra precautions are being taken to help prevent the spreading of the virus. Among them, some Indiana health care facilities are pulling magazines and toys from waiting rooms as a means of prevention. So be sure to bring your own book next time you hit your doctor's office.

One demographic particularly hard-hit by the virus are college students. The close quarters of dorms and communal bathrooms makes the spread of the virus pretty easy. WBEZ's Justin Kaufmann did a little research and has a list of area colleges and what they've reported. According to Kaufmann, though, there are caveats. For example, Northwestern depends on students to report cases to the school and the University of Chicago doesn't specifically track H1N1, instead lumping those cases in with other general flu cases.

In one more bit of H1N1 news, it seems that a previously undiagnosed heart condition contributed to the death of a Naperville teenager who died last week after contracting the H1N1 virus. A final cause of death for 14 year old Michelle Fahle won't be announced until further testing is complete.