The College is monitoring the situation and working closely with various agencies to keep up with recommendations for prevention, testing, and treatment guidelines. We will keep you informed if novel H1N1 flu becomes a concern for the Hinds CC community via this Web site.

For Students:

If you have any of the novel H1N1 symptoms, please try to avoid contact with others until you see a doctor. If you are being treated for a confirmed case of H1N1 (Swine) flu, notify your instructor by phone or email. A residence hall student should notify the Hall Director. Instructors will contact the Dean of Student Services or the Administrative Dean at their campuses.

• Dean of Student Affairs Rankin: Michael Heindl 601.936.5552
• Dean of Student Affairs Raymond: Dr. Barbara Blankenship 601.857.3232
• Dean of Jackson-ATC: Dr. Leroy Levy 601.987.8160
• Dean of Jackson-NAHC: Dr. Libby Mahaffey 601.376.4950
• Dean of Student Affairs Utica: Dr. Timothy Rush 601.885.7005
• Dean of Vicksburg-Warren County Campus: Hilton Dyar, 601.629.6804
  

For Faculty/Staff:

If you have any of the H1N1 swine flu symptoms, please contact your regular health care provider immediately. We recommend that any staff or faculty member with flu-like symptoms remain home until symptom-free (no fever for 24 hours). Only the Mississippi Department of Health lab can confirm a case of novel H1N1 swine flu. If you are being treated for the flu, seasonal or H1N1 swine flu, please click on the link below to report your illness to college officials.

Hinds Community College Health Information Questionnaire

What you can do to stay healthy

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds (hint: sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice), especially after you cough or sneeze, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Practice good cough etiquette by sneezing or coughing into your elbow (rather than your hand) or using a tissue when you sneeze or cough. Throw used tissues in the trash and wash your hands afterward.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Clean things that are touched often like door handles, telephones, keyboards, etc.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people:

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

Symptoms of novel H1NI flu are similar to regular flu and include:

• Sudden fever over 100 degrees
• Cough, sore throat, muscle aches, headache, chills, fatigue, and general weakness
• Some people have also had diarrhea and vomiting.
• These symptoms can range from mild to severe and may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

H1NI flu is not contracted by eating pork or pork products.

You probably are not at risk unless you:

• Have had close contact with a person who is a confirmed case or
• Traveled to a community in the United States or internationally where there are one or more confirmed cases in the last week or
• Reside in a community where there are one or more confirmed cases.

There is NO vaccine at this point which can prevent potential infection with this illness. The seasonal influenza vaccine is not effective against this type of flu. However, the anti-viral medications that are prescribed for seasonal influenza have been found to be effective in treating patients with novel H1N1 in decreasing the symptoms and also the number of days of illness.