The College of William and Mary has its first reported case of swine flu.
According to University Spokesman Brian Whitson, the College was alerted at 4:00 p.m. Friday by officials at the Student Health Center that a student has been infected with the h1n1 strain of the influenza virus, more commonly known as swine flu.
The student, whose name and gender are being withheld for confidentiality purposes, is currently at their private residence recovering.
Students at the College have been reporting flu-like symptoms to the health center for the past couple weeks, but until Friday all tests for type-A influenza, administered to determine the presence of h1n1, have come back negative.
“The Health Center is seeing what they normally see in September,” Whitson said earlier in the day, before receiving word of the case. “We are trying to inform students, not alarm them, and remind them of the procedures necessary to prevent its spread.”
Posters are being distributed around campus to remind students to wash their hands and remain diligent.
“We certainly expected to see the flu on campus,” Whitson said via e-mail. “Like all universities, we’ll likely have more cases. That is why we have been preparing and why we want to continue to educate folks on campus about precautions. That’s what we’ll continue to do.”
Three participants at a summer camp based at the College were diagnosed with h1n1 influenza and sent home in late June. Friday’s case is the first to strike the College during the academic year.