Students returning from spring break, particularly those returning from international travel, should monitor their health for travel-related illnesses, Chief Campus Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said Tuesday in a briefing with the Daily Trojan. Van Orman said she expected an increase in upper respiratory illnesses at USC as people return from break and she encouraged students to visit Student Health if their symptoms became severe.

“Having a fever, especially if that’s associated with other symptoms, such as cough, respiratory symptoms or diarrhea, and particularly diarrhea that’s persistent or associated with any blood in the stool, those would be reasons to come in,” Van Orman said. 

Free sexually-transmitted infection testing for students who do not have the Student Health Insurance Plan is available at the Engemann Student Health Center and the Eric Cohen Student Health Center through April 5. Van Orman encouraged students to take advantage of the service if they had new sexual partners over break or had not been screened in the past year.

Amid a tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas, Van Orman said most students born and raised in the United States do not need to be screened for tuberculosis. However, she said there have been active cases reported at USC, and students working in high-risk areas should be screened for the infection. 

“Screening is recommended if you’ve had an exposure, meaning you’ve spent a period of time in a household with someone with [tuberculosis], or you’ve been in a high- risk environment,” Van Orman said. “That would include working in a jail or another incarcerated facility, working in healthcare or traveling internationally to a high-risk country.”

Tuberculosis is most often seen in incarcerated people, unhoused people, immigrants from high-risk countries or people with weakened immune systems, such as those living with HIV or cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kansas is currently experiencing a tuberculosis outbreak, with 67 active infections reported as of Feb. 7, according to the CDC.

Tuberculosis cases are on the rise across the United States, with cases reaching a decade-high peak in 2023; California reported a 15% increase in tuberculosis cases from 2022 to 2023. Most tuberculosis cases in the U.S. are active cases of latent tuberculosis. Latent tuberculosis patients are asymptomatic and not contagious, but the virus has the potential to multiply and become active over time. 

With summer break approaching, Van Orman encouraged students to schedule any necessary reproductive appointments, physical checkups and medicine refills before leaving USC. To stay healthy throughout the remainder of the semester, Van Orman recommended students stay on top of their hygiene, get adequate sleep, eat well and take advantage of Student Health mental health services if they feel overwhelmed with stress or anxiety.

“Our counseling services are still completely available, particularly if that’s something that maybe you’ve been thinking about this year [and] haven’t quite made that call yet or gone online and booked that appointment,” Van Orman said.