While an outbreak of swine flu that was first detected in Mexico has made its way into the United States, there have been no reported cases in DeKalb or at NIU as of press time. Health officials here are preparing for the event that someone in the area becomes infected with the virus.

Officials placed a Health and Wellness Notice on the NIU Web site and sent it to all NIU e-mail addresses. It contained a warning about the disease and precautionary measures that students and staff can take to avoid acquiring it.

Swine flu, which can be contracted through human-to-human or human-to-pig contact by way of respiratory droplets, the Chicago Tribune reported, has left over 100 people dead in Mexico. In the U.S., there have been 40 reported cases in five states, but none in Illinois as of press time.

Junior psychology major Christian Dorantes was eating fries in the Student Center when he was asked whether he had heard about the outbreak.

“Yeah, I’m watching it right now,” he said as he pointed to a nearby TV playing CNN where swine flu was the main topic all day. “I was a little scared because I have a cold right now. I thought, ‘Oh snaps, should I go to the doctor right now?’ But I’m not worried about it.”

Swine flu symptoms, which include fever, sore throat, body aches, cough, headache, chills, fatigue and occasional nausea and diarrhea, are indistinguishable from those of regular influenza.

Washing your hands is the easiest and most effective way to prevent getting this or any type of influenza, said preventative medicine coordinator Carol Sibley, who was slightly surprised by the attention swine flu is getting. She pointed to the fact that thousands of Americans die each year from influenza. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts that number at 36,000.

But, if someone has a high fever and “it’s during the day, I personally would call health services,” she said. “We hope to have some testing available.”

As he ate Subway in the Student Center, Collin Jaeger, a doctoral biology student, said he’s more interested in the virological aspects of the disease than the hysteria over it, which is, he said, why he gets his news from NPR and the Internet rather than TV news.

“[Swine flu] is something to be concerned about,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s any reason to panic.”