Student health center screening for SARS

With a population of nearly 2,200 international students and scholars, faculty who frequently travel abroad and an array of visiting professors and guests from around the world, the UNT campus is a global crossroads.

For the Student Health and Wellness Center, that globalization means the world's public health concerns are UNT's concerns.

Thus, when the world became aware of the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, staff from the center began discussions with staff from International Studies and Programs and the Denton County Health Department to determine the university's best response.

"We aren't expecting any problems," says Reginald Bond, director of the center. "But we realize that it's prudent to be cautious. Originally we simply added verbal screening steps to our patient intake process."

In May, on the recommendation of the Denton County Health Department, the verbal screenings evolved into a formal policy. It requires students newly arrived in the United States from a country listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization as SARS affected to report as part of their UNT orientation to the Student Health and Wellness Center for screening.

The screening includes taking the student's temperature and inquiring about respiratory symptoms. Students are required to report for screening every other day until they have been in the United States for 10 days and remain without symptoms or fever.

Six students from Taiwan were monitored during the first week of Summer I when Taiwan was listed as a SARS-affected country, but none exhibited symptoms. With Beijing currently the only place listed as SARS affected by the CDC and WHO, it is expected that only a handful of students, if any, will have to be screened for Summer II and the fall.

"We decided to conduct the screenings, which are in addition to the screenings conducted at the point of entry into the country, because we take the health of the campus community seriously and we believe this is a measured, responsible reaction to the threat SARS poses," Bond says.

A similar policy is being considered for faculty and staff to ensure that all members of the UNT community who travel to or from SARS-affected countries are screened for 10 days after arriving in the United States.

BY KELLEY REESE kreese@unt.edu

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• UNT receives $900,000 to fund research
• What are UNT faculty reading this summer?
• New Faculty Senate chair says he's 'still emerging' as a scholar and leader
• New Student Orientation to host close to 3,000 incoming UNT freshmen
• UNT departments on the move
• Magazine ranks UNT among top 100 universities for Hispanic students
• UNT professor seeks study participants

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