LEWISBURG — Amanda Green survived "the swine."

"That's what everyone calls it" on the Bucknell University campus, the 20-year-old junior said.

Green, a physics major from Seattle, was diagnosed with type A influenza, the same strain as the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. Once a major topic on campus, she doesn't hear students chatter much about the outbreak any more and believes collegians' fears are gone.

That despite the fact that 138 students on the Lewisburg campus of 3,520 had been diagnosed with positive type A influenza since the fall semester began. Ten personnel have also been diagnosed dating to Sept. 6. As of Friday, Bucknell reported only two current cases of swine flu in students, and one among staff.

Green has no idea how she contracted swine flu, but admitted she was pretty sure she would get it at some point.

"Everyone thought everyone on campus was going to get it," she said. "I'd see someone at the library and they'd get sick. I'd see someone at the cafeteria and they'd get sick. I just knew I was going to get it."

Some 4,340 Pennsylvanians have gotten it, including at least 27 in the Valley.

As of Friday, the state Health Department reported four confirmed cases in Montour County, five in Northumberland and Snyder counties and 13 in Union County.

It also reported two probable cases in Snyder County.

There are also 74 probable cases and have been 15 deaths from swine flu in Pennsylvania, the state Health Department reports.

On Friday, Geisinger Medical Center in Danville announced that it would limit access to four entrances, where it would screen visitors for swine-flu like symptoms. Sunbury Community Hospital is also restricting access to reduce the chances of visitors infecting patients.

Purdue University researchers predicted in a recent study that by the end of the year, 63 percent of the U.S. population will have caught the virus.



False negative, then positive

Green became ill at the beginning of September, at the same time as her friend, Andrea "” a neighbor in the Roberts Hall dormitory. The students girls sought medical attention at the campus health center and were called in for tests.

Green's symptoms began with a cough, then escalated to a fever of about 99.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

"We sat there for two hours," Green said of the campus health center filled with students. Everyone in the office wore masks, whatever the reason for their appointment.

Both women were tested for type A influenza. Done by a swab in the nose, which Green described as "really painful," the test took 10 minutes to produce a result.

Andrea tested positive.

Green, negative.

Believing she was OK, Green continued with her daily activities.

"I even went to a speaker that night," she said of the day she tested negative. "But through the night I had a fever of 102 degrees. I called and asked them to please test me again."

The second test took only six minutes. The diagnosis was positive.

She was quarantined in her room for five days "” a week filled with sleep and lots of television.



Stuck inside

Because infected students were advised to return home if possible, Andrea left campus. Too far from home, Green was stuck staying in her campus dormitory room.

Her roommate, Jenni, was forced to move out for the week.

Green heard of other students on campus being more physically ill, with vomiting and nausea, but through the quarantined week, her illness evolved into fatigue and cold with runny nose. The fever lasted a day and a half.

"The deans brought me food for lunch and dinner," she said, mentioning that at each meal she was given liquids, such as Gatorade, soda and juice.

She said she retained an appetite during the infection.

Green had a personal bathroom in her dorm room, but said students who weren't so lucky were required to wear masks every time they left their room to visit the public space.

"My friend on the other side of campus had (swine flu) at the same time," Green said. "We would text about what TV we were watching. Professors were aware and accepting (students were sick). It was nice to know I wasn't alone."

Professors were extremely understanding, she said. Green was able to communicate with educators through e-mail while confined to her room, and was allowed to hand in assignments late after returning to class.

Thanks to classmates, she also was able to keep up with classwork, which includes courses titled Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Women and Development, and Transnational Queer Identities.

"My friends would bring my notes," Green said. "They'd stand 10 feet away, lay them down on the floor and I'd put on my mask and come get them," she said, remembering how students tried to avoid catching swine flu. "I thought it would be good to have time off to do work, but I slept the whole time. It was hard to focus."



A slow recovery

The most difficult thing for Green through the week was being so far from home. It was the first time she was that sick and not in the comfort of her own house.

"My parents were worried," she said. "They called me every day and sent me texts. I never had the flu before so I wasn't used to it, but they told me it was normal. They were calm."

Her parents even offered to travel to Lewisburg to be with her, but she declined.

Green admitted to sneaking out on her last day of quarantine to do some work at the library, but found herself exhausted from the walk.

And in living on the fourth floor of the dormitory, it was difficult to climb and descend stairs to do laundry. She didn't have much energy for several weeks after finally getting over the illness.

Feeling better after the week of rest, washing her sheets and clothes was a highlight of the recovery, as well as cleaning the room and bathroom she shared with her roommate.

Despite the cleaning, she thinks her roommate, Jenni, was a bit nervous to return.

"I think her family was too," she said. "But she was tested and it was negative."

Once she returned to classes, Green said she still had a cold and was congested, but felt better a few days after.



Selinsgrove woman: Cough, fever, body aches

Green's symptoms were mirrored by that of a Selinsgrove woman, who was diagnosed as having swine flu in late summer.

"I started coughing first for a couple of days" said the woman, who asked to not be identified. "Then I got a fever for a couple of days. With the fever I had body aches and I was really tired."

For about four days "I was really out of it."

The Selinsgrove woman also developed sinusitis and bronchitis as secondary infections to the swine flu.

She was prescribed zithromax, an antibiotic, and prednisone, an oral steriod.

"That helped," she said.

"I do have mild asthma, which worsened toward the end" of her bout with swine flu, "when I still had the cough. I was kind of wheezing, but it went away eventually."



Attitude on campus changes

Today, the Bucknell campus isn't so worried or abuzz about swine flu. Green doesn't hear about as many students diagnosed and it's not the topic of conversation as frequently. It's a total change from early in the semester when students seemed to be really concerned.

"People were afraid," she said. "I was hand-sanitizing everywhere, but then hit a point where I thought, 'If I get it, I'll get it.'"

Now, the talk on campus has shifted and students don't seem to be as worried.

"The campus still has all the hand-sanitizers around, and we still get updates and reminders through our e-mail," she said. "But people aren't as worried about it."

Green said despite the media focus and hype on the topic, she was never overly concerned for her well-being, adding that she wasn't worried she was going to die.

But she's still cautious.

"If I hear a person near me hacking up a lung," she said, "I get nervous."