Anti-panic swine flu update!
Apr. 27th, 2009 08:12 pmOMG U GUYS THE CDC JUST TOTALLY BANNED TRAVEL TO MEXICO AMIRITE
No. They are suggesting that you avoid heading there to be a tourist for now. If you do go, they recommend being up-to-date on all your shots, keeping an eye on local health warnings, washing your hands, stuff like that. As you come back from Mexico there will be a health screening which may lead to testing if you seem sick. That's it! No ban, not even a strong recommendation, nothing is getting shut down. Just "hey, guys, this flu seems to be worse there, maybe you should think twice about that holiday trip."
Everything in this post still applies. As of right now, there are a grand total of 53 confirmed cases worldwide. You may notice that the news is giving waaaay higher numbers - they are trying to pass off suspected or potential cases as confirmed cases. Also, of those 53? Only 7 deaths, all in Mexico. That's still around .1%. To put this in perspective: every year 2,448,017 people die in the USA. It's easy to make numbers look scary. And yes, there will be higher numbers of cases being "discovered" as time goes on. I recommend reading this article for a very calm, reasonable approach to handling this flu.
I'm still seeing a lot of misinformation, like the idea that the flu shot will protect you from the swine flu. Uh, no. They're totally different flus. Don't go yelling at your doctor to give you the flu shot. It's the end of flu season, they might not even have any left, and it would be pretty pointless.
As always, if there are any questions or concerns about pandemic flu, swine flu, or avian flu, I am more than happy to inform people. :D
No. They are suggesting that you avoid heading there to be a tourist for now. If you do go, they recommend being up-to-date on all your shots, keeping an eye on local health warnings, washing your hands, stuff like that. As you come back from Mexico there will be a health screening which may lead to testing if you seem sick. That's it! No ban, not even a strong recommendation, nothing is getting shut down. Just "hey, guys, this flu seems to be worse there, maybe you should think twice about that holiday trip."
Everything in this post still applies. As of right now, there are a grand total of 53 confirmed cases worldwide. You may notice that the news is giving waaaay higher numbers - they are trying to pass off suspected or potential cases as confirmed cases. Also, of those 53? Only 7 deaths, all in Mexico. That's still around .1%. To put this in perspective: every year 2,448,017 people die in the USA. It's easy to make numbers look scary. And yes, there will be higher numbers of cases being "discovered" as time goes on. I recommend reading this article for a very calm, reasonable approach to handling this flu.
I'm still seeing a lot of misinformation, like the idea that the flu shot will protect you from the swine flu. Uh, no. They're totally different flus. Don't go yelling at your doctor to give you the flu shot. It's the end of flu season, they might not even have any left, and it would be pretty pointless.
As always, if there are any questions or concerns about pandemic flu, swine flu, or avian flu, I am more than happy to inform people. :D