A regular reader came by the Progress late last week offering his hand in greeting. He looked healthy enough: decent complexion; normal voice; eyes sharp. But how to be sure there wasn’t something, shall we say piggly, lurking behind that handshake?
We did what any sensible person would do: threw coffee in the old friend’s face, pushed him out the door, doused our hands in anti-bacterial foam, burned all our clothes and sprinted home to bury all that raw bacon in the backyard. No rabid swine flu germs getting a foothold at this newspaper.
Well it turns out we might have over-reacted some, but it’s understandable with all the doom and gloom scenarios presented a week ago.
On last Sunday’s talk shows, much of the discussion was, “Had the country over-reacted to the outbreak of H1N1 Flu?” The answers were mixed.
There has definitely been some over-reaction. Take Vice President Biden leading the charge domestically with his impromptu and incorrect advice on travel.
But there was still a good deal of talk about how the media and country hadn’t gone nuts––most people merely taking sensible precautions.
As it appears at this point, the world is seeing a new type of influenza spreading rapidly. Fortunately, at this point, it’s not proving particularly deadly. A 14-year-old in Henry County, Georgia was confirmed as having H1N1, but hadn’t even gone to the hospital. His sibling, who had been sick earlier, didn’t even go to the doctor and was never tested.
Before dismissing the general alarms as over-reaction, you must consider the first reported cases were both highly contagious and deadly where this flu originated in Mexico.
Researchers say that among mysteries of this new disease is why it may be linked to 150 deaths in Mexico where it began but has now lessened to a mild flu. Of 286 confirmed cases in the United States, there has only been one death.
If H1N1 had turned out to be as deadly as at first thought, no one would be making jokes or talking about unfounded hysteria. Just because the worst case scenario didn’t unfold doesn’t mean original precautions were misguided.
And there are reasons to believe we should continue to keep an eye on this disease.
First, H1N1 is still active; more cases, hospitalizations and deaths were projected by the CDC on Monday. Second, remember there are still a lot of unknowns about where it came from and where it may go.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that the regular ol’ flu afflicts more than 200,000 every year, killing an average of 36,000 people annually. Most of those are either older or youngsters or are already suffering compromised health.
The Georgia Department of Public Health, in a press release Monday, said H1N1 “still has the potential” to be just as bad as at first believed.
And in defense of those media reports, nothing broadcast had federal officials asking anyone to do anything that’s not common sense during a regular cold and flu season (nothing about barricading yourself at home or wearing a mask at all times).
The CDC asks the public to follow the suggestions below, starting with, “Stay informed.” Visit www.cdc.gov for the latest information.
Other recommendations from Georgia Public Health:
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also work.
•Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
•Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you become sick, stay home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. That’s to keep from infecting others and further spreading the virus. |
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