Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

H1N1 cases down

Robert Palinkas, director of McKinley Health Center.

Robert Palinkas, director of McKinley Health Center.

Keep covering your coughs and washing your hands … but perhaps with less worry.

A new wave of H1N1 may not be as imminent as health officials had anticipated last year.

McKinley Health Center Director Dr. Robert Palinkas said the incidence of flu symptoms on campus mirrors that of the state, nation and world. The number of cases is declining.

“(Incidents) have taken a significant turn downward,” he said.

“Frankly, we’re not sure about the vagaries of this virus. It’s one of those odd circumstances … in the past, viruses like this have had multiple waves. We’re not absolutely sure we’re going to have another wave. We may have reached the point where it will have a hard time (spreading).”

Palinkas isn’t saying another outbreak is impossible, however. “We’re not ruling out the possibility of another significant outbreak, but we think the chances are pretty small at this point,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting flu activity down significantly this month.

The CDC Web site reported last week that doctor visits as a result of flu symptoms, hospitalizations and other data indicators have declined from previous weeks and the trend is continuing downward.

Public health officials are still recommending that anyone who has not yet been vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 influenza or seasonal influenza, should still get vaccinated against them both. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is still offering H1N1 flu clinics to anyone wanting to be vaccinated.

As always, if any symptoms seem life-threatening, seek medical attention immediately.

“In general, if people are having shortness of breath, they’re unable to keep down liquids or they’re immune-compromised, they should be pretty quick to seek medical attention, either from a doctor or some other medical professional,” Palinkas said. “For most other healthy, youngish people, staying at home, getting fluids and taking (fever-lowering) medication is probably adequate.”

Read Next

Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

Illinois faculty member elected to National Academy of Engineering

Champaign, Ill. — Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Nishant Garg, center, is joined by fellow researchers, from left: Yujia Min, Hossein Kabir, Nishant Garg, center, Chirayu Kothari and M. Farjad Iqbal, front right. In front are examples of clay samples dissolved at different concentrations in a NaOH solution. The team invented a new test that can predict the performance of cementitious materials in mere 5 minutes. This is in contrast to the standard ASTM tests, which take up to 28 days. This new advance enables real-time quality control at production plants of emerging, sustainable materials. Photo taken at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Researchers develop a five-minute quality test for sustainable cement industry materials

A new test developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can predict the performance of a new type of cementitious construction material in five minutes — a significant improvement over the current industry standard method, which takes seven or more days to complete. This development is poised to advance the use of next-generation resources called supplementary cementitious materials — or SCMs — by speeding up the quality-check process before leaving the production floor.

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010