Campus response to novel influenza H1N1.

Introduction Colleges and universities have been engaged in pandemic planning since 2005 when the threat of H5N1 was brought to the attention of health care providers and organizations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization. Schools developed plans, based on a 1918 scenario, that were centered on evacuation of campus, managing severe disease with a high mortality rate and cessation of academic business for eight to twelve weeks. While the pandemic caused by the novel influenza (H1N1) virus does not share the same severity as the virus of 1918, it does share the same characteristic of disproportionately affecting the young. While many of the basic tenets of response planning remain applicable, we find ourselves facing a different set of challenges that requires us to revisit our plans and revise our focus and strategies.