An OU student confirmed Tuesday she was diagnosed with H1N1 this month.

Megan Roberts, psychology sophomore and sorority member, said her doctor confirmed she had contracted the illness.

Roberts said her roommate Ashleigh Woodall, a journalism sophomore and former Oklahoma Daily employee, came down with strep throat and as a precaution Roberts went to the doctor and was told she had the flu.

Woodall said the doctors did an instant H1N1 test and put Roberts on medication that day, Aug. 14.

“I caught it before I had a fever,” said Roberts, who experienced back pains, fever and a sore throat.

Roberts said she isolated herself at home and was over the illness in three days before more serious symptoms kicked in.

The doctor gave her Z-Pak, Tamiflu and decongestant, which she finished taking Tuesday, she said.

Woodall said another member of her sorority was hospitalized a few days ago, and doctors confirmed she also had H1N1.

The hospitalized sorority member is OK and not in the hospital anymore, Woodall said.

OU officials have confirmed the H1N1 virus has reached campus, but did not confirm that a student or students had been diagnosed with the disease.

“An OU employee was tested for H1N1 on Aug. 5 prior to the start of school, recovered from the virus a few days later, and the test results came back positive on Aug. 13,” OU spokesman Jay Doyle stated in an e-mail received by The Daily at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday.

A call placed by The Daily at 8:10 p.m. to Doyle was answered with an e-mail that stated, “OU wants to reiterate and encourage students, like we do at the beginning of every school year, to take preventative health care measures to prevent the spread of the flu virus. In addition, this year President Boren has instructed that informational signs and hand sanitizer be placed around campus during the next few weeks to serve as a constant reminder to the OU community about the importance of good hygiene in the prevention of the spread of disease.”

A case of flu broke out in a second sorority house last week, though it is not believed to be the H1N1 strain.

“My doctor told me it was more [likely] than not H1N1,” said Noralea Jordan, psychology senior and a member of the sorority. “They just treated me like I had regular flu.”

Jordan is still recovering from her flu symptoms. While she was ill, she stayed with two other sorority sisters suffering from flu-like symptoms.

“I stayed in the house in the president’s suite,” Johnson said. “We just had a little movie party and used the same bathroom and Lysoled everything.”

Kayley McCoy, president of the second sorority and vocal music education senior, who was also ill with Jordan, said doctors sent her sample to a lab and have yet to confirm whether or not she had H1N1.

OU President David Boren sent an e-mail with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to students and faculty Tuesday morning.

“As we are all aware, there is a potential for there to be an increase in the H1N1 virus this fall,” Boren stated.

Doyle said in the future, specific cases may not be reported, but people who feel sick should take precautions and follow CDC guidelines in order to isolate the illness.

A document advising faculty how to handle the upcoming flu season and the rise of H1N1 cases was e-mailed to faculty yesterday.

The document instructs anyone feeling sick to isolate themselves until they are “free from fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicines.”

The document also requests instructors to be flexible in enforcing their attendance policies because students may not be able to provide a doctor’s note. Faculty members are also asked not to penalize students for missing in-class exams while they are out with the flu. The document also advises members to provide make-up exams as well as “alternative forms of assessment for student who are out with the flu.”

Instructors are also strongly encouraged to use Desire 2 Learn to communicate with students when they are sick and must cancel class, as well as assignments for students to complete in the faculty member’s absence.

Click here more information about the H1N1 virus.