Swine Flu Panic Unnecessary – Just Use a Hanky
So Egypt has begun mass slaughter of pigs and Ghana has banned the import of pork as a precaution against swine flu. Both are pointless as the swine flu virus is transmitted human to human and cannot be caught from pork meat. I think they just don’t like pigs.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has now ‘rebranded’ the virus as virus influenza A or H1N1, rather than the misleading but more memorable name ‘swine flu’.
It has now been confirmed that the virus has spread from Mexico to over 15 countries in North America, Europe and Asia. The good news is that, so far, this particular strain of the flu virus is looking no worse than any other mild seasonal influenza.
While it’s true that any form of influenza is a potentially life threatening disease, there is nothing so far to suggest that this latest outbreak is actually any more dangerous than other seasonal rounds of flu. But that is not the message presented by much of the media. The newspapers in the UK have done very little to reassure people, instead choosing to fuel and promote fear with sensational headlines and scary statistics predicting how many could die.
The EU Health Commissioner, Androulla Vassiliou, has said that there is ‘no need to panic’ as Europe is well prepared and a global epidemic or pandemic would not necessarily cause widespread deaths. She is clearly hedging her bets but, so far, indications are that this outbreak will not result in the death toll predicted by some of our newspapers.
One positive aspect of this current flu drama is that people are being reminded of the need to be aware of how they might catch or transmit the disease. I’ve become increasingly disgusted, in recent years, by bad manners and the lack of consideration for others shown by some people when they sneeze or cough. It’s actually become rare to see someone use a handkerchief or tissue. Instead people sneeze or cough into their hands and then use their germ-laden hand to grasp a door handle or hand rail.
Only a couple of weeks ago a young lady behind me on a crowded London tube train sneezed directly onto the back of my neck. I could feel the wetness of her sputum dribbling down my back, but before I had a chance to remonstrate with her regarding her complete lack of consideration she had hopped off the train. If she’d done the same thing during the past week she would have potentially had the whole train compartment to herself, or even provoked an act of ‘flu rage’.
Carly from Scrapbook Supplies wrote,
I would have to agree with you. People are overreacting if you ask me. I mean in Texas in the U.S. we have districts closing HUNDREDS of schools because of 2 cases in one school. I think that this was a little premature and reactionary. Thousands and thousands of people die from the regular old flu every year. This is just another mad cow/avian flu scare.
Wash your hands, take your vitamins and cover your mouth. You’ll be fine.
-Carly
Link | May 6th, 2009 at 1:57 am
Beauty Products wrote,
It is looking like this outbreak isn’t developing into the deadly pandemic that many newspapers wanted us to believe. But who know what will happen when the winter comes. Hopefully, by then, people will have improved their personal hygiene habits and you’ll notbe subjected to snot on the back of your neck. Yeuch!
Link | May 6th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Twyla from acrylix wrote,
My opinion is that this is no worse than the flu bug. It is a scare tactic, but I would like to think that my family takes the precautions necessary to avoid it. We cough into our elbows, stay at home when we are not feeling well and wash our hands many times throughout the day. If our society was a little bit more concious of the steps to take to avoid becoming ill, it would not even be a problem. We are a family of five and we rarely ever get even a cold.
Link | May 27th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Shawn wrote,
I agree, better hygiene habits are more than enough for keep any disease away!
Link | June 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm