This is the fifth installment in a series of articles about the science of various aspects of college life.
First-year flu, “Metcough,” “Keeney Cough” — it’s called a number of names, but they all signal one thing: Illness is in the air.
About 35% of all college students in the United States were reported to be diagnosed with a cold or other respiratory illness in the past year. On College Hill, as the leaves change color and a chill creeps into the air, the wave of sickness among students seemingly mirrors these national statistics.
“I got sick two weeks ago, and it took about a week and a half to get over it,” James Hosp ’29 said. “It was kind of annoying because I had to do homework one weekend, and I was just in bed all day.”
Onyeka Ikpe ’29 said his sickness spread to his teammates despite his initial efforts to isolate himself from others. An athlete on the men’s track & field team, Ikpe said he missed practice for a week due to symptoms including a cough, sinus congestion and fatigue.
“Some of my teammates got sick, some of my friends that live in Keeney got sick as well,” Ikpe said.
But with students sharing cases of illnesses spreading, what is behind the mysterious “Keeney Cough?”
Adam Pallant, clinical director of Student Health Services, said that while he has yet to see this particular virus make its way onto campus this semester, the term “Keeney Cough” has historically been used to refer to “parainfluenza.”
Pallant added that parainfluenza has no connection to influenza. He described parainfluenza as the “classic RSV,” which is indicative of symptoms like a “progressive hacking, mostly night-time cough,” laryngitis or wheezing when breathing.
Parainfluenza typically appears in “large waves every fall,” and Pallant predicts it will surge again in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s not dangerous or harmful, but it is wildly annoying,” he said. “It does last quite a long time, and that’s just the nature of the biology of that germ.”
The wave of illnesses that students may be witnessing are likely other viral and bacterial illnesses, Pallant said. He emphasized the importance of realizing that there is “no such thing as the common cold,” as there are hundreds of strains and sub-strains that can mutate and spread every year.
“It’s not at all atypical in a university to have several strains and sub-strains circulating around all at once,” Pallant said. “You can get one, and a week later get another one, and it’s not the cold coming back.”
The increase in sickness at the start of every semester is not unusual, said Amanda Jamieson, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology.
“People are coming from all over the country and all over the world, and they bring some sub-strains or some variations of different infections that people haven’t seen before,” she said. “Then, you put everyone into these pretty close living quarters and that can easily spread respiratory infections.”
Jamieson added that infection can also spread via “high-touch areas,” as often-touched surfaces like door handles can be subjected to the presence of bacteria. In her college microbiology course, Jamieson recalls running an experiment where she swabbed different surfaces around her campus to measure the presence of bacteria.
“What was truly disgusting was the handle of the soup ladle in the cafeteria, because everyone was touching it and it was warm and it grew all sorts of bacteria,” she said. “There’s surprising things that you don’t think about that could be highly contaminated with different bacteria.”
Pallant says keeping up with hygienic habits like washing hands regularly, using hand sanitizer and wearing a mask can reduce the likelihood of getting sick, but he also cautions against students compulsively worrying about contracting illness.
“There is a balance between going out and living, going to classes, being with friends, having dinner with people and being extraordinarily cautious,” Pallant said.
He added that sustaining healthy habits such as quality sleep, exercise and nutrition are important to maintain physical and mental well-being. But, he also warned against falling into the myth trap that these habits can necessarily speed up recovery from an immunological standpoint.
Pallant said that the influence of factors like “fatigue, exhaustion and temperature” on contracting illnesses is “subtle.”
“Certainly you will feel worse if you’re exhausted, but I’m not aware of any truly good scientific studies that say if you do or don’t take vitamins, you truly are more or less prone to get these common illnesses,” he added.
Ultimately, Pallant said he shares these recommendations to challenge the belief that getting sick is an individual’s fault, and to clarify the role that Student Health Services can play to aid students.
“Even if we say we might be able to help you feel better, we can’t prevent these (illnesses) or make them go away any sooner than your own immune system will,” he said.
Pallant said he welcomes students to call Student Health Services at any time to relieve any worries.
“People do get sick and it’s not your fault,” Pallant said. “It’s very frustrating, but not harmful. If you are worried, speak to us or see us, and we’ll help to clarify if there’s something to worry about.”
Jonathan Kim is a senior staff writer covering Science and Research. He is a second-year student from Culver City, California planning to study Public Health or Health and Human Biology. In his free time, you can find him going for a run, working on the NYT crossword or following the Dodgers.
