Two deaths from the H1N1 flu have been reported in the U.S. as of May 8, and a total of 1, 639 cases have been confirmed in 43 different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
California currently has 107 confirmed cases, and both deaths from the H1N1 flu, previously called the swine flu, were in Texas.
"We know more about the behavior of the virus than we did a week or two ago, and what we have learned is that things have not been as bad as they could have been," said Georgia Schwartz, Director of the Student Health Center.
According to the Associated Press in an article from May 4, Mexican officials lowered their flu alert level, and are now allowing cafés, museums and libraries to reopen.
"Some public health experts think Mexico might have lowered their alert level too soon," said Schwartz.
On May 8, Director-General Dr. Maragret Chan of the World Health Organization (WHO) gave a speech regarding the subject, entitled "World is Better Prepared for Influenza Pandemic."
She immediately stated that the "virus with the greatest pandemic potential, the H1N1 virus, has sprung up from another source, on another side of the world." It is to be noted that this speech was given in Bangkok, Thailand, via video conference.
"Years of alert and expectation mean that most countries now have preparedness plans," said Chan in her speech. "Vaccine manufacturing capacity has increased sharply."
WHO has currently categorized the pandemic at a phase five alert, which essentially means that it is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus, in at least two countries.
Schwartz insisted that it is necessary to prepare and plan for a new round of infection from the flu in the coming season.
"People should make a special effort to get immunized against regular seasonal influenza next fall," said Schwartz. "Both because many people do become seriously ill from regular seasonal influenza, but also because it will be hard to distinguish regular seasonal influenza from H1N1 flu during a season when both viruses are circulating,"
According to the CBS 5 news website, 16 Bay Area elementary and high schools have been shut down through this week due to one or more H1N1 cases reported, but there have been no new cases reported from any California State University (CSU) campus at this time.
The two cases noted from San Diego State University and CSU Long Beach were both confirmed, but have since fully recovered, according to Schwartz.
Although much of the information regarding the H1N1 flu is necessary, many people think that the media has hyped up the topic beyond what was needed.
"It's a big deal, but they're putting too much focus on it, when there's other things going on that need to be reported on," said Oscar Gutierrez, sophomore. "Mainly they're focusing on it because it's a nationwide thing, but then there's other issues in our nation and in the world that aren't being addressed as much as swine flu."
Schwartz believes that the best sources to go to are the Center for Disease Control (CDC.com) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
"I think the overall media did not do as careful and accurate a job as they could have in their reporting about H1N1, formerly swine, flu," said Schwartz. "This is a good example of why it is important for individuals to apply critical thinking skills and check with primary information sources rather than simply basing conclusions on information provided by a third party."
She mentioned that there were websites hyping fake cures, and that is why it is important to find legitimate web sites to find information.
According to an April 30 article by John Sutter on CNN.com Twitter, the blogging social-networking site "has become a hotbed of unnecessary hype and misinformation about the outbreak."
Glen Nowak, chief of media relations at the CDC, stated in the CNN.com article that there are some positives to tools like Twitter and Facebook creating a buzz about these kinds of topics.
"I think it's generally a useful development, but I would encourage people to look to other sources, especially established, recognized medical authorities," stated Nowak in the article. "It shows that people are engaged and they care and that it's caught their attention-and those all are good things."
Among the problems mentioned in the article, one of the biggest concerns was over the misunderstanding of the flu's original name, the swine flu.
The name was recently changed to the H1N1 flu, so as not to confuse the public about the way that disease is transmitted, which is not by eating pork.
According to Schwartz, the experience of this wave of the flu has created a great learning experience for many, in terms of planning, preparation, epidemiology, communication and prevention.
"Hopefully the learners include members of the public that will retain their ability to evaluate sources of information, [and to] understand the meaning of the language being used," said Schwartz.
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