The following e-mail was sent Saturday to Duke students and parents by President Richard H. Brodhead:

Dear Students, Parents and Friends,

We look forward to welcoming you to Duke University for our 2009 Commencement celebration.

Like other universities across the country, Duke is closely monitoring the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. Duke specialists have been meeting regularly to assess the situation and stay in frequent contact with public health officials at the local, state and federal levels.

Since this is a rapidly changing environment, Duke is taking special precautions in accordance with recommendations from public health officials:

* We will be providing hand sanitizers at major events and in all rest rooms on campus.
* Duke Medicine's Urgent Care Centers throughout Durham will be on call to meet your health care needs. If you become ill with flu-like symptoms while you are at Duke, we encourage you to first call Urgent Care at 919-383-4355 to determine the best course of action.
* Duke's has established a special website -- http://www.duke.edu/flu2009 -- to provide details on the flu outbreak and the University's response to it. This site will be updated throughout the week as new information becomes available.

We know that Commencement is a special occasion for you. We are proud of our Duke graduates and look forward to sharing their accomplishments with family and friends. And while we hope you will be able to join us on campus for the festivities, should you be unable to attend, the main commencement ceremony will be webcast at www.duke.edu/commencement, which is where you can also find the latest information on the many events and activities that make up this festive weekend.

In advance, congratulations to your entire family on being part of Duke's 2009 Commencement!
Sincerely,
Richard H. Brodhead
President

In addition, the International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC) is recommending that Duke graduate students, faculty, and staff avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico.  Earlier this week, ITOC placed Mexico on the Restricted Regions List and prohibited undergraduates from traveling there on Duke programs or with Duke funding. 

While there is some indication that the influenza outbreak in Mexico may be waning, ITOC nonetheless urges caution in planning travel to that country.

At this point, the ITOC recommendation is advisory and not an outright prohibition on travel to Mexico by Duke graduate students, faculty, and staff using funding from Duke accounts.