At work today, the campus community received a message from the Health Centre alerting us to the rampant spreading of an influenza-like virus. Not a surprise as we have 5000+ people on campus who have returned from all across the country as well as other parts of the world -- bringing along viruses prevalent in all those locales. People were missing from class and work as the day went on, so some are staying home to care for themselves and thereby indirectly care for others. This news reminded me of a conversation I'd had with an MD on campus -- I'd noted that the environment seemed very like a daycare with viruses running through the population quickly. He explained that it was more than that since being a residential university means students work, eat and live together 24/7. I'm sure an epidemiologist would thrive doing outbreak analyses to follow the infection curves and such. I'm hoping it is a fast moving virus and that a weekend of rest might help. The bright spot in this situation is that it has happened during the first week of term and not closer to the midterm or final points.
I will admit to wanting to move away from anyone coughing today, since I can't get a flu vaccine for allergy reasons. Even though I did have a similar disease process when things ran through campus in October, this may be a different virus variant. So -- no surprises when a line from a song came to me today <smile>. While the main subject is very different than a viral outbreak, the chorus lines and title perfectly reflect my feelings today. Enjoy!
Don't Stand so Close to Me -- The Police
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