Cold season strikes student body

Author: Lisa Zaval

With the bitter months of autumn and midterms underway, an explosion of sore throats and runny noses has recently been afflicting students across campus. Director of the Health Center Dr. Mark Peluso, assures students that the number of those journeying to the Health Center with cold symptoms seem to be in line with where it should be this time of year.

"College students get sick all year round, but there tends to be peaks after exam periods and 10 to 14 days after heavy party weekends," explained Peluso.

Healthy individuals can become infected by common cold symptoms from breathing in the virus or touching a contaminated surface. Often, colds are transmitted by virus-laden droplets from coughs or sneezes that are introduced to the nasal passages when the hand touches the nose or eyes. Thus, a health-conscious student would be prudent not to pick his nose or stick his finger into his eyeball immediately after coming into contact with an infected patient. Notably, the mouth is not a major point of transmission entry, and infection does not usually result from kissing or swallowing.

Often referred to as the common cold, acute viral nasopharynitis is the most common of all human diseases with infection rates greater than three infections each year per person. However, because college campuses are known breeding grounds for bacteria and disease, it seems likely that the rate of infection is elevated at the College. Indeed, the combination of stress, lack of sleep and extremely close quarters could cause students to become more vulnerable to mankind's most familiar malady.

Said recent victim of the virus Daniel Knowlton '07, "Colds are bound to spread quickly through close-knit environments like college campuses and there isn't a whole lot you can do to stop it."

Yet, in fact, several steps can be taken to prevent the continued spread of these infectious agents. Among a list of possible methods of protection, Peluso suggests careful hand washing before meals, staying hydrated, getting an adequate amount of sleep and keeping immunizations up to date.

While hand-washing and sleeping are certainly sensible approaches, some students argue that the College should pursue more drastic means of disease-deterrence. Said Salim Saglam '07, "The war against the virus should not only include short term ad-hoc interventions but also strategic movements which might yield long term benefits."

The College could establish a quarantine policy. Or maybe require students to wear hygienic masks when entering the dining halls, as the Proctor sneeze-guards are clearly not doing the trick.

But perhaps the best approach would simply be to embrace and celebrate the presence of this prominent campus virus. Explained Knowlton, "We're all hyper-busy at Middlebury, and sometimes it's nice to be sick and have a really good excuse to stay in bed all day."