2008 Woodie Awards
Bird flu scare hits Thai campus
Two on-campus restaurants remove chicken from menu
By: Megan Connelly
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: News
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Some people were probably skeptical when they first heard about bird flu. Some assume it's a simple flu strain and nothing to worry about.
"I'm not worried about it. So far it hasn't been too threatening, at least in this part of the world," said graduate student Tiffany Rowley. "There's no sense worrying about something you can't do anything about."
For two years now, people have been hearing about this potential pandemic, but few have stopped eating chicken or eggs. However, most of those people are not at Webster's Thailand campus, where two of the three restaurants on campus pulled chicken from their menus.
Kit Jenkins, director of the Thailand campus, said it is up to the restaurants to decide what to serve and one of them didn't feel chicken was a threat.
"The restaurants are independent contractors," Jenkins said in an e-mail. "We have input into what they do, but we do not manage or direct their activities. If we thought there was a health issue, we would suggest they comply and they would."
The administration has a close working relationship with the contractors. So far no one has reported getting ill from eating at the restaurants. Thai food preparation is very clean, and Thais culturally are meticulous about such things, Jenkins said.
The Thailand campus has developed a three-stage plan to prepare for an outbreak. They are presently in stage one, which consists of stockpiling the necessary sanitization supplies and spreading awareness about washing hands and surfaces. If the virus mutates and becomes easily spread from person to person, they would move to stage two, instituting strict sanitizing measures.
If borders remain open and the infection is not in Thailand then classes will continue, but they will follow the Center for Disease Control and United States Embassy recommendations. Stage three would become necessary if there is a breakout in Thailand. At that point the Thai Health Ministry would determine what the campus needs to do. There is a possibility all businesses will have to close as large groups spread germs quickly.
"I'm not worried about it. So far it hasn't been too threatening, at least in this part of the world," said graduate student Tiffany Rowley. "There's no sense worrying about something you can't do anything about."
For two years now, people have been hearing about this potential pandemic, but few have stopped eating chicken or eggs. However, most of those people are not at Webster's Thailand campus, where two of the three restaurants on campus pulled chicken from their menus.
Kit Jenkins, director of the Thailand campus, said it is up to the restaurants to decide what to serve and one of them didn't feel chicken was a threat.
"The restaurants are independent contractors," Jenkins said in an e-mail. "We have input into what they do, but we do not manage or direct their activities. If we thought there was a health issue, we would suggest they comply and they would."
The administration has a close working relationship with the contractors. So far no one has reported getting ill from eating at the restaurants. Thai food preparation is very clean, and Thais culturally are meticulous about such things, Jenkins said.
The Thailand campus has developed a three-stage plan to prepare for an outbreak. They are presently in stage one, which consists of stockpiling the necessary sanitization supplies and spreading awareness about washing hands and surfaces. If the virus mutates and becomes easily spread from person to person, they would move to stage two, instituting strict sanitizing measures.
If borders remain open and the infection is not in Thailand then classes will continue, but they will follow the Center for Disease Control and United States Embassy recommendations. Stage three would become necessary if there is a breakout in Thailand. At that point the Thai Health Ministry would determine what the campus needs to do. There is a possibility all businesses will have to close as large groups spread germs quickly.