A friend of mine just posted that her kid's school over in Grand Rapids is closed due to a student there getting a "probable" case of swine flu.
That's a litle too close for comfort.
Apparently this student has a friend that returned from a visit to Mexico a few weeks ago.
I'm still uncertain as to whether we should let this thing run it's course, or to do whatever we need to in order to stop it now. It seems there is a danger that this thing could mutate into something that resembles the 1918 influenza, which could cause it to go out of control.
I think we need to stay the course for the time being. If it mutates, we could be in deep trouble. Getting things completely back to normal will have to wait for a while.
Showing posts with label swine flu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swine flu. Show all posts
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Is a Worldwide Alert Necessary for an Influenza That is No More Dangerous Than the Garden-Variety Flu?
Now that more information is known on the swine flu that is going around the world, and it seems to be no more dangerous to humans than the flu that hit over the winter, is there a reason that we shouldn't allow it to run it's course?
Researchers say that the virus is missing a key component that was present in the dangerous 1918 influenza that killed tens of millions around the world.
And now they're saying that they will have vaccines ready within a matter of weeks.
I'm no medical expert, so I'm asking this: is there a reason not to resume normal business and school operations around the country, and around the world? If it's no more dangerous than a normal flu, is there a danger in dropping our defenses? Is there a chance of a mutation that will actually make it dangerous?
These are questions that should be addressed by public health authorities. We don't want to drop our guard too soon, nor do we want to take steps that are medically unnecessary and scare people, schools and others into overreacting, which some are clearly already doing. Four hundred schools were closed on Friday due to H1N1 fears; 98% of them were false alarms, sparked by "suspected" swine flu fears.
There's more questions than answers right now. Hopefully they'll get a handle on this soon so we know what this virus IS and IS NOT.
Researchers say that the virus is missing a key component that was present in the dangerous 1918 influenza that killed tens of millions around the world.
And now they're saying that they will have vaccines ready within a matter of weeks.
I'm no medical expert, so I'm asking this: is there a reason not to resume normal business and school operations around the country, and around the world? If it's no more dangerous than a normal flu, is there a danger in dropping our defenses? Is there a chance of a mutation that will actually make it dangerous?
These are questions that should be addressed by public health authorities. We don't want to drop our guard too soon, nor do we want to take steps that are medically unnecessary and scare people, schools and others into overreacting, which some are clearly already doing. Four hundred schools were closed on Friday due to H1N1 fears; 98% of them were false alarms, sparked by "suspected" swine flu fears.
There's more questions than answers right now. Hopefully they'll get a handle on this soon so we know what this virus IS and IS NOT.
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