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With the worldwide outbreak of the H1N1 virus in April, a variety of travel restrictions imposed by Canadian universities have been affecting students.
Although the Canadian government recently lifted the national travel advisory to Mexico, some universities have had harsh reactions to the outbreak.
Laval University in Quebec City imposed a moratorium on travel to Mexico, California and Texas.
Four students were in Mexico as part of an exchange program from Laval, and were asked to return to Quebec on April 29.
Hélène Mélançon, a strategic counsellor at Laval University, said the measures were put in place with the university community’s best interest at heart.
“We put some measures to protect our staff and our students. It was the most important part of it for us, to make sure that our campus was safe and healthy. That was our main trepidation,” she said.
“Before coming to the University, they had to spend seven days at home . . . to ensure that they showed no sign of H1N1,” she said.
“After the seven days, we asked them to come to the campus and go to the health office and then meet with a nurse and answer some questions. Then the decision was made to let them here on the campus or ask them to return home.
“We can call [the measures] a success because we had no signs of infection,” said Mélançon.
Jonathan Hui, a second-year biology student at Queen’s University, is involved with the Pura Vida Foundation, a charity that aims to improve the quality of living in South American countries.
The group made plans to travel to both Costa Rica and Panama to work in various medical clinics.
They still plan on attending this summer, but are monitoring the situation in South America closely.
Although the group was not restricted from going by the university, they have been in contact with Queen’s, working closely with the university to determine if it is safe enough to travel.
The outbreak of infections made Hui and the group reconsider their plans.
“With all the quarantines going on, I don’t want to have to go through all that, said Hui.
However, some experts believe that the virus can be contained with many of the traditional precautions taken with infectious diseases.
Dr. Glen Armstrong, head of the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary, does not think travel restrictions are necessary.
“In light of what we now know, H1N1 does not appear to be a particularly virulent strain of flu and does not pose a serious pandemic threat,” said Armstrong.
“The best advice is to wash your hands frequently, especially before meals,” he said.