The second of Duke’s two sessions of the Talent Identification Program has been canceled, officials announced Wednesday. The early termination results from more than 25 of the 260 students exhibiting flu symptoms.
All cases are consistent with the seasonal flu and are mild to moderate, according to a Wednesday news release. This is the first time in the program’s almost three-decade history that it has been canceled prematurely. The second session was scheduled to end Aug. 1
Officials were not clear whether the affected students carried the new H1N1 flu virus, commonly known as swine flu. The first cases of swine flu at Duke surfaced on East Campus last month among students participating in TIP, the American Dance Festival and writing programs held on East.
“Although none of the students seems to be in any serious danger, we decided to err on the side of caution and cancel the program to reduce the accelerating risk of infection among the other participants,” Martha Putallaz, Duke TIP’s executive director, said in the statement Wednesday. “We made this decision in close consultation with Duke experts on infectious disease and student health, as well as with campus officials. The health and safety of our students is our highest priority.”
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Regarding subsequent flu outbreak at DUKE TIP, Davidson College (July 29, 2009):
When I first got news of a few sick children at the Davidson camp from my child, I kept calling for information. The individuals I spoke to at first issued me numbers like 9 students were ill but not all were the flu and definitely not swine flu, only gently increasing the number to 15 students each time I called. Later I found out that the numbers were much, much higher (as of 7/28/09, 60 students were sent home). My child eventually ended up in quarantine but by the time it became obvious how serious the issue really was, it was too late to pull my child from camp early BEFORE illness hit. I am very upset about the way in which DUKE TIP at Davidson has handled this situation. My deep suspicion is that some of the term 1 campers must have also been ill but to KEEP PROFITS IN THE POCKET they did not notify term 2 parents and campers. They enabled this illness to spread labeling it mild to moderate and ‘not H1N1′ just flu. THIS IS AN epidemic!
The problem lay in the students, not the staff members. The students were sick for a few days before turning to the nurses and doctors for treatment. I thought TIP handled this very well, all things considered. The situation was complicated, and the staff members handled it well. I’m only speaking from my experience at Duke East.
I didn’t actually get H1N1 while at Duke TIP, but many of my best friends did. The staff did everything they could to prevent the outbreak, and were just as heartbroken as the students when we were forced to shut down. There were daily screenings before class for basic symptoms, and the potentially ill were kept in isolation for at least 24 hours.