Cornell student dies from swine flu, virus impacting colleges

A 20 year-old Cornell University student died of complications from the H1N1 swine flu - the first American college to experience a student death. As northern hemisphere temperatures decline, the virus becomes a challenging college campus resident.

The H1N1 swine flu virus has claimed its first campus casualty in the U.S. on Friday. Cornell University reported the death of a 20 year-old student from complications originating from the virus. There have been more than 500 infections at Cornell alone, and colleges across the country are experiencing significant disruptions to campus life. Swine flu cases on college campuses have been appearing with alarming regularity. Tracking the pandemic's impact among college and university students, Washington reported the highest incidence of H1N1 infection - with 367 cases of swine flu per 10,000 students, according to a study from the American College Health Association. Georgia came in second with 126 cases per 10,000 students, and North Carolina ranked third with 49 cases per 10,000 students. To date, there have been 7,000 cases of swine flu infection reported among college campuses nationally. The World Health Organization has been tracking the progress of the pandemic and reported on Friday that the virus has killed more than 3,200 people worldwide. The vast majority of those deaths - 2,467 in total - have occurred in the Americas region. Meanwhile, life on American college campuses has become disrupted as a result of the persistent virus. The college football season is facing threats of significant outbreaks among players and attending students, with campuses employing wider use of hand sanitizers and other hygienic advisories. Colleges across the country are hosting hygiene talks and offering self-care kits - and many have set up quarantine stations, as communal living and tight quarters have presented ideal environments for broader transmission. "Probably by the time your roommate's sick, you've already been exposed," Dr. Larry Neinstein, executive director of the University Park Health Center and a professor of pediatrics and medicine at USC, told The Los Angeles Times.