<p>My s has allergies … seasonal ones. A couple of days ago he sneezed, covering his mouth and nose with his hands as he’s been told to do when he coughs or sneezes. Now, he’s 20 years old and was working at home on his computer. He did not get up to wash his hands … just continued typing. Very typical. This whole cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze thing doesn’t work if the person doesn’t then wash his/her hands because now everything that person touches, i.e. his computer keys are contaminated. Just done a little people watching lately … and no one washes their hands immediately upon coughing or sneezing (for some people that might mean every minute or so … lol). I like what one doctor said, “we need to start bending our arm and coughing into the crook of our elbow.” By doing that you’ve not coughed on your hands.</p>
<p>zebes, who btw lectured said son and passed the hand sanitizer … geesh</p>
<p>Funny public health video showing technique for coughing into your sleeve, including Olympic style ratings for technique. Pass it on to your children!</p>
<p>Ooops, almost forgot to mention that Swine flu is Bush’s fault. The current gov. will have no responsibility if we start dying from it. So, it makes Joe B(whatever), some people call him Biden, to me he is B(something else) remarks / warnings even more ridiculous, why to warn if they will not be responsible for anything anyway? Bush is the one, bad, bad.</p>
<p>One of my piano students is Mexican. She is 9. For months now she has been excited about a trip to Mexico City in May to visit the grandmother she has never met. Yesterday she told me she won’t get to go. And she told me her cousin (in Mexico) has the flu and is going to die. So sad!</p>
<p>Just to update an earlier theme about the effectiveness of the current flu vaccine against this particular strain:</p>
<p>From today’s daily WHO flu (who flu?!) update : Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research, says results of preliminary tests show there is very little chance that seasonal vaccines would be effective against this particular virus.</p>
<p>MiamiDap–just want to point out that some female Republican whose name I can’t recall stated that the last flu epidemic was under Clinton, and this one is under Obama. </p>
<p>What a maroon. Like it’s the Prez’s fault, in any case.</p>
<p>If someone is exposed to this flu now, will they not be somewhat protected in the fall when it could be more deadly, should it mutate as expected? If so, wouldn’t it be better to NOT try and contain it now and let the population build up an immunity? </p>
<p>Yes, I realize we don’t know yet how virulent this strain is, but the preliminary indications are that it’s not so bad, at least in its current form. I suppose the more people that get it, the more it mutates and that’s the argument for containment?</p>
<p>It was Minnesota’s Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-Gamma Quadrant) and she actually said that the last swine flu was under Carter in 1976. Gerald Ford was President in 1976.</p>
<p>No. By the fall, there could well be a vaccine. Until then, we want to limit the number of cases so the flu doesn’t have a chance to mutate from what now is apparently a mild version to what could be a more lethal version.</p>
<p>Actually, those who are exposed now will probably be immune in the fall… not that anyone is advocating getting people exposed deliberately. That was the experience in past pandemics, including the 1918. Usually the acquisition of increased virulence genes only, does not change the antigenic profile enough to have it overcome natural immunity. In other words, this new virus has a mixture of genes of from flu viruses that infect several different species, but it seems to lack the “invasiveness” gene that made the 1918 epidemic so bad. If it acquires that gene, or some other highly virulent characteristic as it circulates over the summer, it should not be so different than its present form that people who have had the virus won’t still be immune.</p>
<p>According to a Doctor on the local news, unless you isolate yourself totally for 6 to 8 weeks, not receiving mail, having your own supply of food, it will be very difficult to avoid this flu. It is extremely contagious and nobody have immunization against it. My opinion about the high general interest and concern for this virus is that it can decide to mutate in the blood of a human host and become a much more dangerous virus.</p>