Swine flu prevention ought to be habitual Outside the Loop By Jeremy Stoltz As of this writing, there have been 985 reported cases of the virus known as influenza A (H1N1), or swine flu. Twenty countries have reported the virus, with the number of fatalities at 26. One of the deaths occurred in the U.S. and the other 25 occurred in Mexico. Our southern neighbor being the source of the problem is cause for concern, and the media, once again, is exacerbating an already touchy situation. Yet, the World Health Organization’s response to the possible pandemic was to distribute 2.4 million doses of a common anti-viral drug to 72 nations—which just goes to show how overblown the hysteria is. If the organization charged with overseeing the health of humans across the globe believes a common anti-viral drug can fight off this virus, then why the mass frenzy? In the first 10 days of the outbreak, Chicago Children’s Memorial Hospital’s emergency department had more than doubled its average number of patients—the overwhelming majority of whom were people who showed very minor or no flu-like symptoms. How would you feel if you had a serious reason for visiting the emergency room—like a mild heart attack, broken bone, concussion, etc.—and you had to wait an extra three hours to get treatment behind a laundry list of people only there because they coughed unexpectedly earlier that day, or they ate a pork chop a few days before? The hysteria by which the uninformed base their actions is not healthy for those individuals, but more importantly, it has a marked effect on those who are sensible enough to realize that this “crisis” is just a strong case of the flu. What separates this strain from the standard, garden-variety flu is its ability to transfer easily from host to host. Don’t get me wrong, it is a highly potent strain, but considering that the “regular” flu has killed thousands since January, is all of this hysteria really necessary? Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), easily the most pragmatic leader in Congress, believes that the outbreak is grossly overblown. Paul was a freshman congressman in 1976, during the last swine flu outbreak when Congress voted to inoculate the whole country. Twenty-five people died from the inoculation while only one person was killed from the flu, Paul said. Emergency rooms are being flooded, putting at risk those who have real illnesses, all because we as a people are way too quick to overreact and fly into hysterics. First off, swine flu, despite its name, is not contracted from eating pork. So for those worried about last week’s pork shoulder, calm down. Second, the way to stop the spread of the virus is to take measures that each of us should be practicing on a daily basis anyway, the most important of which is washing our hands with soap and hot water. My question is: why do we need to be told this? Shouldn’t this be standard operating procedure? Unfortunately, this is not the case. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have used a public bathroom and watched the fellow next to me walk from the urinal right to the door, where he then grabs the handle with his filthy hand and walks out. Fundamental hygiene should not be something we need to be reminded of only when there is a potential pandemic on the loose. We should be doing it every day. When you sneeze, do it into the crook of your arm, and if you have to do it into your hands, wash them immediately, otherwise you’re spreading those germs to everything you touch. And how about cleaning that dusty keyboard every once in a while? The vast majority of germs are transferred by our hands, so that thing we touch every day should be disinfected regularly. For those who are feeling sick, stay home! Believe me, no one but you cares that you haven’t missed a day of work since 2006. But they will care if you spread your sickness to the rest of the office. These simple rules seem so obvious to me and I’m constantly shocked and appalled when I witness people blatantly disregard them. How can anyone be so obtuse toward the health of others? I believe the answer is we are a nation comprised largely of uninformed, lazy people who need to put down the remote control and educate themselves. Since the advent of television, the government has been dumbing down its citizens so that they are easily swayed by the media. Are you one of those people, or are you the type who uses basic reasoning and scientific fact as the basis for your actions? For my health and that of my family, I hope you are one of the latter. Contact news editor Jeremy Stoltz at jstoltz@thebusinessledger.com or at 630-428-8788.

Posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 (Archive on Tuesday, May 19, 2009) Posted by jstoltz  Contributed by jstoltz

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