As the first case of influenza A was reported in Wood County, a mass e-mail was sent to students and staff over break to let people know the flu is back in town.

Dr. Glenn Egelman, director of Student Health Services, said even though there have not been any cases reported on campus, people should not take the news lightly.

“The case in Wood County is the same [strand] that hit the county last year,” Egelman said. “This year the vaccine does cover that strand, but the problem is no one got the vaccine.”

Back in October one of the two influenza vaccine manufacturers had to stop distribution of their vaccine due to contamination. Without the supply from the company, Chiron Corporation, the vaccine shortage has been felt everywhere, including Bowling Green.

Therefore, prevention is key in order to avoid an outbreak on campus, Egelman said.

“The e-mail I sent is a heads up to say, ‘It’s coming,'” Egelman said. “That’s the point — education.”

The University has one more weapon to fight off the flu season this year, Egelman said. The Student Health Center has been made a sentinel site for influenza by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the Ohio Department of Health.

This means that the University has a specialized test it can administer on people with the flu in order to find out exactly what kind of influenza the patient has.

“There is influenza A and B and all kinds of subtypes,” Egelman said. “They only gave us a few tests, but we will know exactly what could be causing an outbreak on campus and then tailor our treatment to that.”

Egelman wanted to make it clear that these are special tests, not special treatments.

“It will help others more than it will help the individual,” Egelman said.

Being made a sentinel site is important for the University, Egelman said, because residence halls can easily create the environment for an outbreak.

“Students living in residence halls are considered high risk,” Egelman said. “… Last year there were college students who died in their residence halls from influenza — it can happen. It’s very rare, but it can happen.”

Making sure on-campus students know the danger of the flu and how to prevent it is a serious matter, Nick Hennessy, associate director of Residence Life, said.

“So far, knock on wood, things have been pretty good. We have not received any reports that people are ill,” Hennessy said.

Efforts by Residence Life to inform students about the flu have included creating billboards in the residence halls, holding information sessions and running an informational slide on channel 99, the movie channel available to on-campus students.

Hennessy said the office had hoped to team up with the Wellness Connection this year to offer flu shots in the residence halls, but when the shortage become apparent it was impossible.

“We were kind of disappointed by the lack of the vaccine,” Hennessy said. “We had to scratch our idea, but that is why we are going a long way with prevention.”

FluMist, a nasal flu vaccine by Medimmune Vaccines, Inc., will be available tomorrow in the Union Lobby from 1-3 p.m. Egelman said anyone interested should plan to be there at 1 p.m.

“We expect to run out,” he said. “Get there early if you can.”

Unfortunately they are low on the FluMist vaccine, so some students will not be eligible, he said.

“When medical systems get so overwhelmed all we can do is focus on prevention,” Egelman said. “Prevention is the key because without the flu shot we are already behind.”