Student volunteers all over campus are being tested for the H1N1 virus commonly known as swine flu.
The tests make up the second phase of a Department of Defense-funded research study being conducted by Duke faculty. In the first phase, researchers developed the prototype for a method of using genetic markers to diagnose viral infections prior to the onset of symptoms, which would allow doctors to treat patients more efficiently and help curb the proliferation of a virus.
“As a result of our initial success with viral studies, we were asked by the Department of Defense to look at swine flu,” said Dr. Aimee Zaas, assistant professor of medicine and a study contributor. “We are trying to validate our pre-diagnosis method in a real-world setting.”
The study has enrolled students in five East Campus residence halls—Alspaugh, Pegram, Giles, Gilbert-Addoms and Bell Tower—in addition to multiple West Campus dormitories. In order to enroll in the study, students simply went to an enrollment station, where researchers validated consent forms and medical information. From that point on, the only major requirement of the study was to report symptoms daily.
“You have to go online every day and fill out a survey about how you’re feeling. It’s five questions—basically nothing, and they send you reminder e-mails every day. It’s wonderful,” said freshman Sean Cadley.
If a student reports negative symptons, a blood sample is taken, Zaas said.
Researchers are also monitoring the spread of viral infections among close friends and contacts of sick individuals. If an individual in a living group starts exhibiting symptoms, he is known as the “sentinel” case, said Dr. Christopher Woods, associate professor of medicine and a microbiologist who contributed to the study.
“We then take blood samples from the sentinel’s friends, dormmates and teammates for viral infections. It doesn’t matter if they get an infection from the sentinel or from someone else. What we care about is getting samples two or three days before someone gets sick, so that we can test the pre-symptomatic diagnosis method.”
Students are given monetary compensation based on their consistency in filling out surveys and the amount of blood samples taken from them. For many, however, this was not their only motivation for participating in the study.
“It just seemed like an easy enough way to give back to the school,” freshman Corinne Merriman said.
Woods said he foresees the study’s positive impact going beyond the scope of diagnostic research. In addition to being able to track what is going on here at Duke, he added, we can educate students on how to prevent respiratory viral infections and expose them to a real-life application of the scientific method.
The next phase of the study will likely be focused on mapping how a virus spreads on campus. If researchers can identify this, Woods said, they can identify different risk factors for viral infections, thus shedding light on the social and behavioral aspects of viruses.
Researchers plan to test 500 to 800 subjects over the course of two years, using new groups of students every semester. Students already in the study have the option of continuing to participate into the next semester. In addition, researchers are still accepting participants for this Fall.
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