A moderate flu season is projected this winter in Los Angeles, but the USC community seems to be swinging between moderate to severe as students have returned to campus for the new semester.
In an interview with Annenberg Media, USC Chief Campus Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman warns that a flu outbreak is affecting the USC campus at a progressive rate. Students returned from winter break during the peak of the flu season, and clinical visits and reports of positive at-home antigen tests rose above the 3% baseline.
Van Orman noted that while the antigen tests are highly specific and convenient, they are not the most sensitive in flu detection, which allows more room for error, missing infections and producing false negatives.
Beyond the at-home tests available for free pick up at Engemann Student Health Center, the clinic also offers on-site PCR testing (Polymerase Chain Reaction, genetic-based testing).
She continued that individuals who fall into one or more at-risk groups, which includes but is not limited to underlying respiratory health conditions and pregnant women, should prioritize getting tested and vaccinated.
“Those are people who are at higher risk for complications of the flu, and are the people that benefit most from treatment with antiviral medications,” Van Orman said.
Unlike the airborne COVID-19 virus, influenza is carried on surfaces and spread via respiratory droplets (large particles) produced by coughing, sneezing or talking, usually requiring close proximity.
“The most common way people probably get the flu is if they touch a doorknob, a rail, a desk, anything,” Van Orman said. “We all have this tendency to put our hands in our mouth and our nose and our eyes, and so we actually get the virus that way.”
She recommends students and others alike take simple precautions to avoid getting sick, such as washing their hands carefully, avoiding sharing personal items (e.g. cups or utensils), cleaning shared surfaces and wearing a mask when in close proximity to anyone displaying obvious symptoms.
Van Orman predicted that one of the leading causes among college students is the common act of sharing drinking and/or smoking materials.
However, she noted that the most important precaution people can take to protect themselves is to receive the flu vaccine. Van Orman said doing so in a timely manner is especially useful in combatting the virus when it is carried by someone who is not symptomatic but still contagious.
“This is one of the challenges with the flu,” Van Orman said. “People may be contagious, and they feel great… so it’s really during [those] first couple days when you’re most contagious.”