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Since our last post 10 days ago, swine flu has all but gone quiet. While Europe may still be in the midst of summer holidays (with the seasonal drought of interesting news to report), swine flu is rearing its ugly head in the Middle East, South-East Asia and North America.
As previously reported, India and neighbouring countries (known for their poor hygiene conditions) have been seeing swine flu cases and deaths rise over the last fortnight. Indeed Goa – a popular holiday destination – has begun screening large numbers of the 2.4 million holiday makers who arrive in that city every year (Source: AFP).
In the Middle East – including Algeria, Barhrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen – Ramadan has been severely affected. AFP reports that in “Mecca, the Saudi birthplace of Islam … numbers were well below usual.” Egypt, Iran and Iraq have placed restrictions on the numbers of people who can attend pilgrimages this year, owing to the number of people in confined areas and the increasing risk of the spread of the virus.
People over 65, children under 12 and pregnant women have been discouraged from attending and everyone is being discouraged from shaking hands and kissing during this period. This news will come as anticlimactic and disappointing, particularly during Eid – a time of feasting and celebration. Participants will no doubt be reflecting on the first Middle Eastern swine flu death – an Egyptian woman who herself had just been to Mecca on an umrah trip.
This is alread on top of negative economic figures which have deflated many travel prices by as much as 40% (according to the Telegraph). However, interestingly, whilst people are being encouraged to stay home and reflect on their lives, there is a segment of the economy (such as satellite TV stations) that are taking advantage of this different sort of captive audience.
Turning to North America, we see two major pieces of news. The first is that up to 120 million Americans will be sickened with the virus and up to 90,000 (three times the amount of a normal flu season) could die from it. Health planners believe that as many as 300,000 people could be admitted to Intensive Care and that the virus will “stress every aspect” of the health system.
Time is ticking on, however. Even though $2 billion has been set aside to buy 160 million doses of swine flu vaccine, enough supplies will not be ready until mid-October. Insurance companies are debating whether they will cover the cost of the vaccine (Illinois’ United Healthcare, have decided that they will [Chicago Tribune]) and governments examining their role in healthcare (Washington State’s health system may be affected by the $470 million worth of cuts through the state [Washington Examiner]).
Meanwhile, forecasts of the spread of swine flu are beginning to come true as North American schools, Colleges and Universities start a new academic year. The Gainsville (Florida) Sun reports that the under-24 year old age group is at highest risk from contracting the flu. The density of student populations, likelihood of touching and spreading the virus through human contact, and of course band and sports group travel and competitions against other schools are all raising concerns. However, authorities across North America are attempting to limit any cause for “panic” in order to prevent a repeat of over 700 schools that closed earlier in 2009. In British Columbia, presently “school closures are not part of its plan to deal with outbreaks of the swine flu” (CBC).
Students are being taught the “Dracula sneeze” (sneezing into the inside of your elbow) in Southern California. Teachers in Silicon Valley are being issued with infrared thermometers which allow them to take temperatures of students from a distance. Often in schools, where confirmed cases of swine flu have been identified, the affected student is sent home, letters go to the parents of the other children in his / her class and community areas (i.e. bathrooms and gyms) get wiped down and sterilised. Indeed, Fairbanks, Alaska has already seen its first high school swine flu case. In Texas, plans are in place to purchase 2.5 million courses of anti-viral drugs, with commonsense steps like handwashing in the interim. (Chron-AP Texas News)
Older students attending university are being affected with 32 confirmed cases amongst the University of Kansas’ 27,000 student population (KansasCity.com). Students across the country are being advised to pack a thermometer, over-the-counter medicines and a week’s worth of food just in case they feel the flu coming on (in Dayton, many of these items are being sold in the university’s bookstore). Additionally, where practical, students with the flu are advised to go home and let family look after them. Universities are planning “flu waiting rooms” to keep flu sufferers away from other types of injuries, or planning to convert gyms to recovery centres. (New York Times)
Of course, in addition to the actual illness caused, the disruption could have severe affects across the education system. If one underage student falls ill, then s/he will need to stay at home and lose valuable learning time. Parents will need to take time off work or arrange for other childcare. Any siblings may be infected too. Then, it might hit the parents and so on, and so on. The ripple effects through the system could be huge.
However US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is looking for ways to mitigate at least the loss of learning time, through provision of printed or downloadable teaching materials. Also, whilst previous guidance recommended infected students stay home for a week, new recommendations are just for 24 hours once temperature has returned to normal – again, minimising the impact on learning and family life.
Any good news through all of this? Supposedly with necessity being the mother of invention and all that, we’re seeing a rise in the hiring of private jets as a way to avoid travelling with public carriers (Media Line). Watch this space.
Further 360° Reading:
- Swine Flu School Closings: Fort Worth ISD, Lewisville, Ponder … – I’ve been paying close attention to the Swine Flu school closings in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, especially since I live in Plano TX myself. Swine Flu (H1N1) concerns has lead Fort Worth ISD to close all schools in the district, …
- Get Some Flu-Fighting Foods in Your Diet – I have been sniffling and coughing off and on for a week now and it seems that no matter what medicine I take or how much time I spend “taking it easy” in bed or snuggled up on the couch with bad TV and great movies, the runny/stuffy …
- Thermal Scanners Used to Screen for Swine Flu as Countries Race to … – hot-for-swine-flu. There is NO panic but countries are rushing to contain the Swine Flu outbreak. Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine. …
- Comment on No Swine Flu in the Philippines Yet by Electronic Cigarette – Big thank to god for saving us from Swine Flu.
- Swine Flu & The Housing Crisis: A “Perfect Storm” – Reported/potential H1N1 Swine Flu cases as of … Image by pixelfrenzy via Flickr. It’s always something! Just when there are some small (real small) signs that the US economy may be on the mend, a new, never before seen type of swine …
- SWINE FLU PANDEMIC AND WORK FROM HOME JOBS – With the swine flu scare going on right now, people who are lucky and have home jobs have to be feeling just a little bit safer than the rest of us. It is times like these that it is great to be able to be a little more self sufficient …
- Swine Flu Maps – The origins of these animal-to-human diseases remain for me shrouded in “I don’t want to know.” But like others I’ve watched the Swine Flu story develop over the past few days. This evening Om Malik pointed out a Google Map showing …
- Natural remedy for Swine Flu? – Is there a natural remedy for Swine Flu? Can the world heave a big sigh of relief? When Madras is running out of Swine Flu testing kit; When Bombay has shut down schools and shopping malls; When India is considering more drastic …