While the rates of respiratory viruses on campus are declining, flu and gastrointestinal problems caused by norovirus remain steady, and whooping cough cases are higher than they have ever been, Chief Campus Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said Tuesday in a briefing with campus media. 

Van Orman said there were not enough cases of whooping cough to declare an outbreak, but reminded students that whooping cough is preventable with the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine, which Van Orman said should be updated if students were vaccinated over 10 years ago. 

“We used to never see [whooping cough]. And throughout the year we have seen quite a few cases of whooping cough — really, unprecedented numbers of whooping cough — and we still are seeing that,” Van Orman said. “We’re just continuing to see a couple [cases] a month, and we’ve actually been seeing that since October.”

Student Health also reported high levels of the common cold on campus. For over-the-counter remedies, Van Orman recommended using a nasal spray with an anti-inflammatory, allergy medicine such as Claritin-D, or a Neti Pot to combat congestion. Van Orman advised against using Afrin nasal spray for over three days and said there wasn’t any evidence for vitamin C making a difference in lingering cold symptoms. 

Van Orman said that congestion and coughing from the common cold could last two to three weeks, but advised students to make an appointment with Student Health if they were concerned about prolonged symptoms. 

“The [symptoms] that you definitely would want to seek care for would be if you have a cold, you’re getting better after a week or so, and then all of a sudden you start getting a lot worse,” Van Orman said. “Other reasons to come in would be, of course, if you had any difficulty breathing [or] if you had a fever that persisted longer than around 48 to 72 hours.”

USC CARE-FEST will be held April 16 in recognition of Ssexual Aassault Aawareness Mmonth. Participants will create a CARE-Kkit that supports self care and learn how to be a helpful, supportive bystander if they are witnesses to sexual assault. 

“The focus [of CARE-FEST] is really about bystander [intervention] and self care and really working to encourage students to figure out how they can step in, step up, intervene, to create a safer, supportive environment, and just learn about how that is really important in terms of shifting culture,” Van Orman said.

On Sunday, Student Health announced a new 16-unit minor in psychiatry in behavioral health sciences. Van Orman said the available classes would be beneficial for students who want to invest in their personal growth and development, as well as those who want to learn more about mental health and psychiatry.

“The science of psychology and psychiatry is really important in terms of how we make decisions as an individual and a community in a society,” Van Orman said. “We’re continuing to see workforce shortages in the area of mental health and behavioral health professionals. This is an effort to help students … learn more about these as a potential career path.”