It seems, as this is written late Wednesday morning, that the swine flu is cause for a watchful eye, but possibly nothing more. I have read that some people are wearing face masks on airplanes and I have heard that urgent care facilities are maxed out. That’s to be expected, I guess, what with the news media’s hysterics.
But what does it mean to us, the intelligent, thoughtful folks that read this blog? Has the swine flu changed your behavior in any way? Would you send home an ill co-worker who’s son had recently been to Mexico? Would you cancel a planned trip to Mexico? Would you cancel domestic or international air travel? Would you wear a mask on the plane? Would you keep your kids home from school if a case is diagnosed in your area? Would you avoid the Kentucky Derby and it’s large crowd (or any other crowd)?
My understanding is that the disease cannot be transmitted through the comment feature of this blog.
The masks handed out in Mexico and worn by many in the US is nothing more than a security blanket. Those masks will not filter a virus.
Thirty six thousand people die every year in the US due to the flu.
Wash your hands for 20 seconds frequently, and keep your finger out of your nose.
Cancel a trip to PV… no, unless the government prohibits travel to and from MX.
Let us think about this. The US has 307 million people, how many really have the swine flu or just flu-like symptoms. Mexico City has about 22 million people and how many have actually contracted this flu? Not suspected to have contracted, but actually contracted it.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so, precautions make sense. Media hype and fear do not.
Would you send home an ill co-worker – Yes, but always would.
Would you cancel a planned trip to Mexico – Might as well, it is closed (i.e. museums, soccer matches, etc.)
Would you cancel domestic – getting on a plane next weekend.
Would you wear a mask on the plane – See above, they don’t work on air pollution either, but no one tells the Asian countries?
Would you keep your kids home from school – nah, exposure is the route to anti-bodies.
Would you avoid the Kentucky Derby – as opposed to just avoiding crowds? No.
For the record, the face masks are useful. The virus is carried on droplets of water, such as from spittle or a sneeze. The masks keep the droplets from being inhaled. According to the CDC, chances of getting a virus while wearing a face mask (if done properly and consistently) drop 60-80%.
Of course, it’s important to not touch the outside of the mask where all those nasty droplets have collected. Or leave the used masks around for the kids to play doctor with.
From Web MD:
While a mask could theoretically help prevent swine flu, it’s a bit much for most people and really not necessary at this point.
Sure, if someone is coughing or sneezing in your face, a mask might help. Also, if you know that you’re going to be around someone with swine flu, such as a loved one, a mask might be warranted. But otherwise, that’s not the most effective strategy for preventing swine flu because you don’t catch most respiratory viruses from people coughing in your face.
As mundane as it sounds, the most effective way to prevent getting respiratory viruses like swine flu is washing your hands. But most of us don’t do it often enough and don’t do it the right way.
From CNN.COM:
But their real value seems to be in keeping people who are already ill from spreading the virus, rather than protecting healthy people, experts said.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday in a press briefing that the “evidence is not very strong” for masks’ value outside of health care settings, and outside of settings in which people come into face-to-face contact with a person with an infectious disease.
“We would not recommend that people generally wear masks in their workplace as a precautionary measure,” he said.
Guess this thing has me spooked; it has changed my behavior. I wrote a post about the World Health Organization raising its alert to level 5 (out of 6) and made a few jokes. Upon reflection that seemed thoughtless and perhaps even taunting the gods. I deleted the post.