UA News

Continuity of Operations Plan submissions surged after the first wave of swine flu hit.

As The University of Arizona campus prepares for the start of a new school year, the winter flu season looms just around the corner, along with the threat of a second wave of the H1N1 virus, also called the swine flu.

Federal health officials have said they expect to see a spike in H1N1 cases as the back-to-school season gets under way, and many suspect the second wave of the virus could be more severe than the first. All strains of flu are typically more easily transmittable during the fall and winter season, when people tend to spend more time indoors.

As of July 24, a total of 43,771 confirmed and probable cases of H1N1 had been reported in the United States, with 302 of those cases resulting in deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus, first detected in people in the United States in April, was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in June.

At the UA, four students tested positive for H1N1 before the end of the spring semester, and another four had suspected cases of the virus over the summer, said Campus Health Service Director Harry McDermott. All have recovered.  

As hospitals and clinics across the country brace for a second wave of the H1N1 virus, members of the campus community have been asked to prepare as well, by outlining what they would do in the event of an emergency like a flu pandemic.

Following the first wave of the virus in the spring, UA administrators made it a priority to have as many academic and nonacademic units as possible complete Continuity of Operations Plans – or COOPs, which detail how units would operate during an influenza pandemic or other emergency, said UA Police Department Cmdr. Brian Seastone, the UA's manager of emergency preparedness.

A COOP template had previously been created as part of the UA's general emergency preparedness efforts and the Campus Emergency Response Team had asked that they be completed and updated annually. But before the swine flu, a good number of units had yet to do so.

After swine flu cases became widespread, however, the University saw a surge in the number of campus units submitting plans.

An unprecedented number – 237 – were submitted in response to the swine flu outbreak in the spring. The majority of those plans were new submissions from campus units that did not previously have plans on file, Seastone said.

The COOPs, originally initiated in anticipation of an avian flu pandemic a few years ago, are essential to ensuring that campus is able to maintain necessary operations and recover in the event of a crisis, Seastone said.

"What the COOP does is it identifies a continuity of operations for a particular area. It addresses leadership succession, essential functions that need to go on within a unit and identifies key individuals in an area," Seastone said.

Due to turnover and changes within campus units, annual updates to plans are important, Seastone said.

"Within departments and units, people change assignments, responsibilities, et cetera, so it keeps them current, plus it identifies if certain things are still priorities. Priorities in divisions change over time," he said.

Departments and units that have not yet submitted or updated their COOPs can do so on the CERT Web site, which provides a downloadable template. 

Campus community members also are encouraged to sign up for UAlert, an emergency text messaging service designed to keep campus updated in the event of a crisis.

When the first U.S. swine flu cases were reported, CERT members began meeting regularly to monitor the situation and provide updates to the campus community. Information on the virus and the UA's response to it, including communications regarding the flu, an H1N1 FAQ and details of the UA Pandemic Plan are available on the CERT Web site.