Horns forced to postpone series

trevor.kenney — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:46:44 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan athletics departments have jointly announced that the upcoming Canada West women's hockey series scheduled for October 30th and 31st has been postponed because more than one quarter of the U of L team is currently experiencing flu-like symptoms.

"It was very important to postpone this series to ensure that our team members and our visitors were not further exposed to the flu-like symptoms that have been spreading through the community," said assistant coach Deb Marek. "We currently have 6 players and coach Chandy Kaip away ill, and their health and well-being is critical."

The Pronghorns will face the Huskies January 2 and 3, 2010 instead of October 30 and 31, 2009.

U of L Health Centre manager Lori Weber, RN, said the team illness is unfortunate, but not a surprise considering that there are currently more than 300 students, staff and faculty listed as ill on the U of L's flu registry – about three percent of the school's student and employee population.

"The teams are doing the right thing in postponing their games and asking their players to self-isolate if they exhibit flu-like symptoms," Weber said. "This reinforces the fact that this illness, whether it is the seasonal flu or H1N1, is to be taken seriously."

Weber said that symptoms may include fever over 100 degrees, sore throat, cough, fatigue, headache, body aches, runny or stuffy nose, vomiting and diarrhea.

"You can be contagious for one day before symptoms begin and possibly seven or more days after. A person is more contagious on days with fever," she said.
"I applaud the actions taken to protect the health of the sports teams involved. As a reminder, all those involved in any sport should be taking extra vigilance with cleaning sports equipment, not sharing water bottles, mouth guards or other equipment and notifying their coach/team when they are ill."

Weber added that staying at home and resting aids the ill person in their recovery and protects their teammates from exposure to influenza.

"Vaccination clinics are being held in Lethbridge, so please consider getting vaccinated."

To view complete information on flu-like illness and steps to take if ill please visit the U of L website at http://www.uleth.ca and click on the "Be Fluless, Not Clueless!" icon.

Student ill with tuberculosis

trevor.kenney — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:16:47 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is co-operating fully with Alberta Health Services Public Health officials to help connect them with students and members of the campus community who may have been in contact with a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student living off campus who was recently diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).

The student supervised one exam near the end of the school term, and was in limited contact with an estimated 75 students.

The U of L Registrar's Office has provided a complete list of names and contact information to public health officials so they can contact those individuals.

Public Health officials have contacted the student's roommates and immediate contacts on campus as well, and they are in the process of being assessed.

"We moved swiftly to co-operate with public health officials when they contacted us Thursday," says U of L Vice-President, Academic,
Dr. Andy Hakin.

"We are very grateful the student is receiving treatment and is recovering. At the same time, we are also concerned about the well-being of our students and employees on campus, so we are working quickly to ensure that public health officials can contact them to determine their level of exposure."

The case poses no risk to the general population.

As a special note to the campus community, only those individuals directly contacted by Alberta Health officials are affected. Freedom of Information and Privacy guidelines preclude releasing any information that would identify the student.

Only those individuals deemed to be in close contact with the ill person will be advised to have a TB skin test to help determine whether or not they are affected.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria can infect any body organ, but it only spreads to other people when it infects the lungs.

People may have a cough lasting longer than 3 weeks, fever, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, night sweats and constant tiredness.

A person can get TB when someone with TB coughs, sneezes or talks, placing the TB bacteria in the air. Another person may breathe in the bacteria.

An average healthy person needs to spend several hours a day over a few months with an infected person to get TB. In some cases the infection may be passed on in less time.

In most people exposed to TB the body seals off the infection. Only 10 per cent of people exposed to TB will develop an active disease.

Students or any member of the public with a concern about this illness can contact the Alberta Health Link hotline at 1-866-408-5465.

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Horns forced to postpone series

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