The following message was sent to the Tufts community at 10:50 AM on Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Dear Members of the Tufts Community:
We are writing to keep you informed of Tufts' plans to respond to a possible pandemic flu outbreak. We are carefully monitoring the current swine flu outbreak that originated in Mexico and has now spread to the United States. No cases of the swine flu have yet been confirmed in Massachusetts, but it is prudent for us to take steps to ensure that we are ready to meet a possible outbreak. Our current efforts draw on more than two and a half years of work by a university-wide team that was launched by President Bacow in August 2006 to plan for possible pandemic illness.
We would like to stress the importance of prevention. The most important steps we can all take to prevent the spread of the flu are personal. Fortunately, they are also simple. So, at the risk of repeating advice you have heard many times before:
- Cover your nose and mouth by coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your sleeve rather than your bare hand.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds at a time, or use alcohol-based hand cleaners.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Try to avoid contact with those who are sick.
- To help prevent others from catching your illness do not go to work or class if you are sick.
More information on the flu is available on the Tufts pandemic preparedness website at http://emergency.tufts.edu/flu This website, which is updated regularly, serves as the central information resource for pandemic planning and response activities across Tufts. It also provides links to authoritative sources of medical and public health information including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose website may be accessed directly at http://www.cdc.gov/. You may contact the University-wide Task Force on Pandemic Planning via the pandemic preparedness website.
We will continue to monitor the situation and assess the possible implications of a pandemic outbreak for our academic and research programs, residential community, clinical operations, and other university activities, paying special attention to the possible needs of our international population. We are grateful to the many colleagues across the university who are working collaboratively to ensure that Tufts can act effectively in the event a threat to our community's public health should materialize. We know that this situation may evolve rapidly, and we will be back in touch with you directly as circumstances dictate.
Sincerely,
John M. King
Senior Director of Public Safety
Chair, University-Wide Task Force on Pandemic Planning
Margaret Higham, M.D.
Medical Director, Health Services, Medford/Somerville Campus
Member, University-Wide Task Force on Pandemic Planning
Professor Kanchan Ganda, M.D.
Department of Public Health and Community Service, School of Dental Medicine
Member, University-Wide Task Force on Pandemic Planning
Joseph P. McManus
Executive Associate Dean, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Member, University-Wide Task Force on Pandemic Planning
