A summer program at Duke University has been canceled following a flu outbreak on campus.
The second of two summer sessions of Duke's Talent Identification Program was canceled Wednesday after more than 25 of the 260 participants tested positive for the flu or exhibited flu symptoms, according to campus officials.
All the cases are deemed mild to moderate and no student has been hospitalized. The three-week session for academically gifted teenagers was being held on Duke's East Campus and had been scheduled through Aug. 1.
"Although none of the students seems to be in any serious danger, we decided to err on the side of caution and cancel the program to reduce the accelerating risk of infection among the other participants,” said Martha Putallaz, Duke TIP’s executive director.
Other Duke summer programs located in other parts of the campus, including Duke TIP’s West Campus programs, are continuing as scheduled, with program administrators keeping a close watch on the health of their participants and others, according to a university press release.
Several programs, such as those of the American Dance Festival and Duke Youth Programs, are scheduled to end this weekend, the release states.
“We’ve increased surveillance for influenza infections in our community throughout the summer,” said Christopher Woods, a Duke infectious disease expert and part of the medical team advising the programs.
