Coast 2 Coast: Cancelled Services Due to H1N1

[Original Article]

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Victoria and Vancouver Island: Cancellation of non-essential community services in facilities where H1N1 immunization clinics are being conducted. To find out which services are considered non-essential, call your local public health unit (the number is in the telephone directory’s Blue Pages) or visit www.vha.ca and search for your local public health unit by name.

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (serving Vancouver, North and West Vancouver and along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, Sunshine Coast and Central Coast): Temporary cancellation of public health programming for parent/infant drop-ins for November and December. (Newborn followups are continuing.)

ALBERTA

Alberta Health Services is suspending operations at Calgary Community Health Centres, where measles and mumps vaccinations are delivered, for at least one week to redeploy staff and resources.

Seasonal flu shots are suspended at Calgary clinics in order to concentrate on H1N1 vaccinations.

SASKATCHEWAN

Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region. Adjusting programming and services to make nurses available to immunize for pandemic H1N1 influenza:

• All high-risk individuals, such as those who need rabies vaccine, will receive immunizations.
• Children who are due for their two-month, four-month, six-month and 12-month immunizations will receive them on schedule.
• Children due for the 18-month and four-year booster immunizations will be immunized at a later date. These booster vaccinations can be delayed without major risk to the child’s health. A notice will be mailed to parents when this age group can be accommodated.
• The Breastfeeding Support Centre will be temporarily relocated to the Maternity Visiting Program at the Regina General Hospital, 15th Avenue entrance, medical office wing. The service offered at 204 Wascana St. will return to that location once the H1N1 mass immunization is complete.
• Prenatal classes normally offered by Population and Public Health Services are cancelled. Women due in November, December and January can contact the YMCA. Health region prenatal classes will resume once the H1N1 mass immunization is complete.
• Services at the Travel Health Clinic will be reduced until Pandemic H1N1 mass vaccination is complete.

Saskatoon Health Region’s Public Health Services: The following services will be reduced once mass H1N1 immunization clinics begin:

• Fluoride varnish services except for vulnerable preschool children.
• Child health clinic appointments will be limited to immunization only — no screening or referrals by public health nurses.
• Routine immunization available only for children requiring their two-month, four-month, six-month and 12-month immunization.
• Early childhood psychology services.
• Breastfeeding, infant and preschool nutrition support.
• Permitting, inspection and approval of plumbing installations and private, commercial or industrial sewage disposal systems.
• Approval and inspection of facilities regulated under the Public Health Act, 1994, that do not require licensing.
• Education programs for operators of public food facilities such as restaurants.
• Health centres will not be open for clients to weigh infants.
• Routine international travel centre services with exception of services to clients who require vaccines for their travel visa and for clients travelling to destinations other than vacation resorts.

Saskatoon Health Region’s public health services: The following services will not be offered by Public Health Services once mass H1N1 immunization clinics begin:

• Public health breastfeeding support.
• Community followup for children discharged from hospital.
• Dental health promotion and education.
• Older adult wellness health promotion and education.
• Parenting support groups.
• Postnatal home visits.
• Postnatal phone calls.
• Sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic.
• Inspections for low-risk facilities (e.g. facilities that are not regulated under the Public Health Act, 1994) that are under another federal, provincial or municipal agencies jurisdiction.
• Routine immunization for 18-months-old, four-years-old and school-aged children and adults.
• Rural speech language pathology services.

At this time prenatal classes in Saskatoon will continue as a primary health service. Anyone looking for more information about alternate arrangements for services is asked to call public health at (306)-655-4620. The health region’s website, www.saskatoonhealthregion.ca, also features a service guide and a parents’ directory of alternative services in the Saskatoon area.

MANITOBA

Winnipeg and surrounding area: Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has cancelled pre-natal classes scheduled from mid-October to mid-January, affecting 120 couples.

Brandon: No public health programs postponed or cancelled.

ONTARIO

Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington public health: With the redeployment of staff to work at the H1N1 vaccine clinics, certain public health programs and services have been disrupted:

• Babytalk drop-ins have been cancelled for Nov. 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, and 30.
• The Walk On program scheduled to begin Nov. 2 has been postponed indefinitely.
• Immunization drop-in clinic has been postponed indefinitely.
• Travel clinic is by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling the travel clinic line: 613-549-2335.

Ottawa - Cancelled public health programs include:

• Prenatal classes.
• Outreach to clients of the Ontario early years centres.
• I Love to Skate.
• Outreach to seniors, including Aging at Home.
• A cancer-screening program.
• Physical literacy and obesity prevention workshop on Nov. 10.

Sudbury & District – programs affected:

• Minor delays (days) in some routine childhood immunizations.
• Delay of a couple of months in school-based meningitis immunization program.
• Reduced health promotion programming due to redeployment of public health nurses.

Thunder Bay District: The health unit is cancelling its immunization clinic scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4 (held at 999 Balmoral Street, Thunder Bay) in order to staff the additional flu clinics.

Toronto:

• Selected sex health clinics postponed.
• Tuberculosis services schedule adjusted.
• School vaccinations have been suspended.
• Low-risk restaurant inspections have been suspended.

Windsor, Essex, Chatham-Kent, Sarnia and Hamption: No postponed or cancelled public health services.

QUEBEC

There are no reports of cancellation or postponements of public health services inMontreal.

NOVA SCOTIA

Capital Health Region — Halifax and surrounding: Over the next several weeks, some services regularly offered by public health have been suspended or reduced:

• Public health prenatal classes are suspended (the IWK Health Centre will continue to host labour and delivery classes — part of the regular prenatal class series — and Birth Pre-Admission Clinic sessions. As usual, please call (902) 481-5842 to book prenatal labour and delivery classes. Prenatal classes offered by family resource centres are continuing).
• Routine postpartum home visits in the community are suspended with the exception of those for vulnerable families (all mothers will be visited by a public health nurse before discharge from the IWK. The nurse will discuss individual support needs and inform families of available community resources).
• Drop-in clinics at family resource centres are suspended.
• Vision screening of children in elementary school is deferred until January 2010.
• School health program staff including youth health centre co-ordinators will be available to their schools one day per week.
• International travel clinic is reduced to one day per week, offering yellow fever, completion of vaccine series where necessary and TB testing.
• Menu assessments for licensed child care centres will be delayed.
• Delays are to be expected in all health promotion programs.
• Contact with workplaces will continue where possible, including information and resources regarding H1N1.

Halifax services that will continue:

• Immunization program for Grade 10 students.
• Surveillance and followup of notifiable diseases as required by law.
• Breastfeeding clinics are being offered by public health nurses six days a week at various community sites. Call (902) 481-5852 for information on clinics or breastfeeding support.
• Regular programming of public health services is expected to resume no later than Jan. 3, 2010.

Cape Breton District Health Authority: Public health services temporarily disrupted due to diversion of public health staff to H1N1 vaccination clinics:

• No new prenatal classes.
• Primary immunizations-childhood series (parents are being directed to family doctor or nurse practitioner. If families don’t have a family doctor, public health service will provide the shots.)
• General health education presentations on hold.
• Nutritionists and health educators programs on hold.
• Committee work deferred.

NORTH

There are no reports of postponements/cancellations of public health programs in theNorthwest Territories.

There are no reports of postponements/cancellations of public health programs in theYukon.

There are no reports of postponements/cancellations of public health programs in Nunavut.

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

St. John’s and surrounding area: Eastern Regional Health Authority has suspended the following services:

• Prenatal education.
• Healthy baby clubs.
• Breastfeeding support groups.
• Preschool health check clinics.
• School health programs, including school immunizations.
• International travel clinics.
• Routine adult immunization programs.
• Routine tuberculin testing.
• Health promotion programs.
• Visitor restrictions have been implemented at all acute care centres throughout the region. These include: Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre, Bonavista Peninsula Health Centre, Burin Peninsula Health Care Centre, Placentia Health Centre, St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital, U.S. Memorial Health Centre, Waterford Hospital, Carbonear General Hospital, Dr. A.A. Wilkinson Memorial Health Centre, Dr. L.A. Miller Centre, Dr. G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital, Dr. Walter Templeman Health Centre, Health Sciences Centre, Grand Bank Health Centre, Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Dr. W.H. Newhook Community Health Centre. Members of the general public are asked not to visit patients in any of these facilities, except under exceptional circumstances. These visitor restrictions do not apply to Eastern Health’s long-term care facilities at this time.

Cornerbrook and environs: Throughout the Western Region, public health nursing will be limited to the following essential services:

• Prenatal referrals for high-risk pregnancies as determined by a physician.
• All new births/ birth mothers will be referred to community Health nursing for screening and appropriate follow-up.
• Child health clinics will be limited based on priority screening.
• Referrals for newly diagnosed diabetes patients will be screened for appropriate followup.
• International travel services will be limited to priority services based on screening by community health nursing.
• Other public health programs are postponed.
• Visitation restrictions are in place at Western Memorial Regional Hospital and Cornerbrook Inter-faith Home.

NEW BRUNSWICK

Province-wide public health programs affected by allocation of resources to H1N1 vaccinations:

• Cancellation of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination program. Students who have started the three-shot program will finish. Those who were scheduled to receive the inoculation this year will receive it at a later date.
• Health fairs, health promotion activities postponed until January.
• Anonymous HIV testing at sexual health clinics suspended. Those wishing to be tested to be redirected to physicians’ offices.
• Regularly scheduled school immunizations postponed until the New Year.

P.E.I.

No medical programs and services have been cancelled or postponed as a result of a reallocation of resources to H1N1 vaccination programs.

 

Doctor’s Speak Out Against The H1N1 Vaccine

[Original Article]

“Our children face the possibility of death or serious long-term adverse effects from mandated vaccines that aren’t necessary or that have very limited benefits.” — Jane M. Orient, M.D., Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) executive director.

“My suspicion, which is shared by others in my profession, is that the nearly 10,000 SIDS deaths that occur in the United States each year are related to one or more of the vaccines that are routinely given children. The pertussis vaccine is the most likely villain, but it could also be one or more of the others.” –Dr. Mendelsohn, M.D.

“When I was training, one in 2,500 [children were autistic]. Now it is one in 250. At the moment, the only logical explanation for this is MMR.” — Dr Kenneth Aitken, British specialist in the treatment of autism. (The Telegraph, United Kingdom, April 2, 2002)

“By the (U.S.) government’s own admission, there has been a 41% failure rate in persons who were previously vaccinated against the (measles) virus.” — Dr. Anthony Morris, John Chriss, BG Young, “Occurrence of Measles in Previously Vaccinated Individuals,” 1979; presented at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology at Fort Detrick, Maryland, April 27, 1979.

“In 1993 a high court judge in the UK decided that it was impossible to know the exact contents of vaccines and that science had no idea what the cocktail of chemicals, contaminants and heavy metals contained in vaccines could do to the human body, or why they would work to prevent disease.” – British Medical Journal, 1993.

“There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza. The producers of these vaccines know that they are worthless, but they go on selling them, anyway.” — Dr. J. Anthony Morris (formerly Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the US Federal Drug Admin.)

“There is insufficient evidence to support routine vaccination of healthy persons of any age.” –Paul Frame, M.D., Journal of Family Practice

“Our results suggest that infants whose mothers are born since measles vaccine licensure in 1963 are significantly more susceptible to measles than are infants of older mothers and that the risk of measles increases incrementally with each year increase in the maternal year of birth.” — “Increased susceptibility to measles in infants in the United States “, Pediatrics 1999 (Nov); 104 (5): e59

The strong association between vaccination with RRV-TV and intussusception among otherwise healthy infants supports the existence of a causal relation. — Intussusception among infants given an oral rotavirus vaccine, Murphy TV, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, N Engl J Med. 2001 Feb 22;344(8):564-72

“Delay of DPT immunization until 2 years of age in Japan has resulted in a dramatic decline in adverse side effects. In the period of 1970-1974, when DPT vaccination was begun at 3 to 5 months of age, the Japanese national compensation system paid out claims for 57 permanent severe damage vaccine cases, and 37 deaths. During the ensuing six year period 1975-1980, when DPT injections were delayed to 24 months of age, severe reactions from the vaccine were reduced to a total of eight with three deaths. This represents an 85 to 90 percent reduction in severe cases of damage and death.” –Raymond Obomsawin, Ph.D.

“Autism may be a disorder linked to the disruption of the G-alpha protein, affecting retinoid receptors in the brain. A study of sixty autistic children suggests that autism may be caused by inserting a G-alpha protein defect, the pertussis toxin found in the D.P.T. vaccine, into genetically at-risk children.” –Mary N. Megson, M.D.

“My data proves that the studies used to support immunization are so flawed that it is impossible to say if immunization provides a net benefit to anyone or to society in general. This question can only be determined by proper studies which have never been performed. The flaw of previous studies is that there was no long term follow up and chronic toxicity was not looked at. The American Society of Microbiology has promoted my research…and thus acknowledges the need for proper studies.” –John B.Classen, M.D., M.B.A

“These data show that DPT vaccination may be a generally unrecognized major cause of sudden infant and early childhood death, and that the risks of immunization may outweigh its potential benefits. A need for re-evaluation and possible modification of current vaccination procedures is indicated by this study.” –William C. Torch, M.D., Director of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Nevada School of Medicine

“The (Illinois) department followed the recommendation of a panel of experts, its Immunization Advisory Committee, while rejecting the advice of others who thought the decision should be left to parents and pediatricians. But in what critics consider a conflict of interest, 5 of the committee’s 18 members have financial ties to Merck, which makes the chickenpox vaccine. Two members of the committee have given talks for Merck, receiving up to $750 per speech. A third member directs a nonprofit group that has received $20,000 in grant money from the company. And two other members own stock in Merck, including one who has owned as much as $16,000 worth.” – (Sun Times, January 27, 2002)

“Vaccination is not necessary, not useful, does not protect. There are twice as many casualties from vaccination as from AIDS.” –Dr. Gerhard Buchwald, West Germany, specialist of internal diseases and participant in about 150 trials of vaccination victims.

“The public is surely entitled to convincing proof, beyond all reasonable doubt, that artificial immunization is in fact a safe and effective procedure, in no way injurious to health, and that the threat of the corresponding natural diseases remain sufficiently clear and urgent to warrant mass inoculation of everyone, even against their will if necessary. Unfortunately, such proof has never been given.” –Richard Moskowitz, M.D., Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, March 1983 (76:7)

“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been reported following administration of DPT. The significance is unclear. 85% of SIDS cases occur in the period 1 through 6 months of age, with the peak incidence at age 2 to 4 months.” –From the accompanying insert to Connaught Labs DPT shot.

“Measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, and the whole panoply of childhood diseases are a far less serious threat than having a large fraction (say 10%) of a generation afflicted with learning disability and/or uncontrollable aggressive behavior because of an impassioned crusade for universal vaccination … Public policy regarding vaccines is fundamentally flawed. It is permeated by conflicts of interest. It is based on poor scientific methodology (including studies that are too small, too short, and too limited in populations represented), which is, moreover, insulated from independent criticism. The evidence is far too poor to warrant overriding the independent judgments of patients, parents, and attending physicians, even if this were ethically or legally acceptable.” –Association of American Physicians & Surgeons

Worldometers – real time world statistics

Worldometers – real time world statistics.

iPhone Saves the World From Swine Flu: Apple/Google consider joining the game of the pharmaceutical giants…

This is such a hilarious article I had to share it!

When you thought that only Pharmaceutical companies were the ones making a buck from the soapbox preached swine flu epidemic, think again.  Apple/Google sense blood in the water and are salivating over a piece of the pie too…

iPhone Swine Flu Tracker app will help you stay clear of the Virus

The Swine Flu virus epidemic is certainly a serious issue that one shouldn’t take lightly. In light of this, a Swine Flu Tracker app for the iPhone is apparently ready for public use and is, in fact, just waiting for approval for distribution in the App Store.

IntuApps is the company behind this app which will hopefully help educate people as to the current status of this virus and its various symptoms. We still don’t know when it will get approved, but news of such a very useful and informative app just waiting for the go signal from Apple is good enough on its own. What’s even better is that, from what we hear, it will also be offered free of charge.

With no clear sign that the epidemic will be over soon, the Swine Flu Tracker app will definitely be helpful in the coming months to stay clear of the contagious virus. We’re just hoping that it doesn’t take long for Apple to see the value of this app and finally approve it for distribution in their App Store.

[source]

Voicemail, the Google way

Another Google App that gives you more control over your daily tasks.  Pretty Cool.

Healthcare Workers to be Required to get the H1N1 Vaccine

[Original Article]

Saskatchewan health-care workers who choose not to be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus could be sent home without pay in the event of an outbreak.

The provision is a clause in the collective agreement covering many health-care providers, including members of the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan.

“It was the employer’s idea,” Chris Driol, president of the union, told CBC News. “they wanted to definitely exert some influence on people as to whether or not they were going to get vaccinations.”

If a health-care facility experiences an outbreak of the H1N1 the workers may be called upon to take anti-viral medication or, if they were not vaccinated, stay home with no pay.

“If a person is not vaccinated for an illness and then that illness, there’s an outbreak of that illness at the facility where they work they may be sent home and without pay or access to sick leave,” Driol explained. “That’s about preventing the spread of infection.”

In some parts of Saskatchewan the threat of H1N1 is real.

‘There is a pandemic present’

On Tuesday health authorities in the southeast said 10 schools in the area were reporting absences, possibly due to flu, of at least ten per cent of the student population.

“There’s a pandemic present,” Dr. Shauna Hudson, the Medical Health Officer for the Sun Country Health Region, told CBC News. “We have lots of H1N1. We’ve got 50 lab-confirmed cases.”

While some health-care workers say they are reluctant to take the vaccination, others said they felt it was their duty to be immunized.

“As a health-care worker and a concerned person I think we should be immunizing ourselves,” Natalie Bieberdorf told CBC News. “[To] protect myself, protect my family. Protect the people I work with.”

To get it? or not? The H1N1 (Swine Flu) Debate

[Original Article]

The great debate

To vaccinate or not? The question is turning into Canada’s great debate, particularly in the wake of some recent, tragic flu deaths and polls that show just over a third of Canadians are planning to get a swine flu shot.

On the one hand, many experts say that the risk for those not getting vaccinated is pretty low.

Experts point out the death rate from the initial bout of swine flu in the spring was not nearly as high as many had expected, even in southern hemisphere countries such as Australia where the main flu season has just passed and where the H1N1 vaccine wasn’t approved until nearly the end.

On the other hand, H1N1 has spread very quickly, to 177 countries so far, and is proving to be particularly dangerous to unusual (for the flu) groups such as children and young, apparently healthy adults in their 20s, as well as those with compromised immune systems such as pregnant women and adults with conditions like asthma.

In both Canada and the U.S., health authorities are reporting that influenza-like illnesses are running higher than normal these past four weeks, though they have largely given up tracking how much of this is H1N1 related.

Faced with these concerns — a new strain that hasn’t been seen for years with a different victim profile — a jab with a needle would certainly seem like the best option, particularly if the alternative is a very high fever and visit to a jammed and bug-infested emergency room.

Or as Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones puts it: “It’s actually more about the people around me because I don’t want to be the source of an infection that might send one of my kids, or grandkids or friends to a hospital or ultimately kill them.”

Is it safe?

Some people have expressed concerns about the safety of the vaccine, concerns which may be magnified because of the speed with which the swine flu campaign’s been rolled out.

For his part, Dr. Gandhi allows that there is some legitimacy to the argument that there hasn’t been enough testing of this particular swine flu vaccine.

But he says it is very similar to the type of flu shot that is given in past years and which has generally proven safe.

However, the difference between the swine flu vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine is the addition of an adjuvant, a compound that boosts the body’s immune response on its own.

It’s been added at the request of the World Health Organization to help make more of the specific H1N1 ingredients go around.

Adjuvants have been widely used in other vaccines, notably the bird flu vaccine in much of Asia where it was tested on at least 45,000 people without serious incident, WHO says.

Because the adjuvanted vaccine has not been tested on pregnant women, a non-adjuvanted vaccine will be made available for them but it won’t arrive until at least next week.

In the meantime, public health officials say that women with a history of illnesses or who are well along in their pregnancy might not want to wait.

The vaccine does not contain a live virus, so it can’t give you the flu.

But people with asthma or even minor egg allergies should consult their doctors first before getting the shot. People with serious egg allergies should not be vaccinated.

Is it effective?

Despite the general sense that Canadians should go out and get vaccinated especially if they fall into one of the high risk groups, there has been little discussion about whether the vaccine is even effective.

Health researchers argue that the only way to know about a vaccine’s true effectiveness is to carry out randomized trials. In other words, give the vaccine to one random group, a placebo to the other, and track the results.

But that kind of random testing hasn’t been done for the H1N1 vaccine. It makes it impossible to know whether vaccinated individuals remained healthy because they had the shot or were just lucky enough to avoid the bug.

Dr. Jim Wright at the University of British Columbia says he would be willing to take the vaccine — but only if it was part of a trial.

We haven’t seen the last of the swine flu, he says, and if we don’t test the effectiveness of this vaccine, we’ll be mired in the same vaccination debate each year.

“If we don’t do a trial, then next year in September or October everyone will be wondering again if they should take the vaccine. My criticism of this vaccine is the same as my criticism of other flu vaccines.

“There are no (randomized) trials done so we don’t know if it worked or not and every year we hear that it doesn’t look like it worked,” he says.

Worst case

The theory of vaccines is that they are like a firebreak to a forest fire: If enough people are immunized, a virus doesn’t get to pick up the head of steam it needs to do its worst.

Proponents say that we need mass vaccination now because, even though this particular strain might not be so terrible, if it mutates into something more potent then at least large numbers of Canadians will have acquired some protection.

But Dr. Wright says that even considering a worst-case scenario, using that as the rationale for vaccination now makes no sense since this current vaccine probably wouldn’t work against a future strain in any event.

He says the world’s seen H1N1 play out in Australia, Argentina, and New Zealand and that it’s clear the swine flu isn’t that bad.

“We’re giving the vaccine for something that isn’t that severe and we don’t know if it is effective. That’s the story.”

Dr. Alison McGeer, the head of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, agrees about the flu not being that bad.

As a frontline health worker who expects to be regularly exposed to the virus, she’s getting vaccinated. But she’s not overly concerned if most Canadians decide not to go for it.

“In a worst-case scenario,” she says, “if we didn’t have the (H1N1) vaccine our ICUs would be stressed, we’d have to cancel surgeries because our systems would be overloaded, there’d be stress on family doctors but we’d get through it.

“Australia got through its first wave and there’s no reason to think it would be much different here.”

Quick Facts: H1N1 (Swine Flu)

SWINE FLU QUICK FACTS [Original Article]

• At this point, those 65 and older appear less affected by the H1N1 virus than they usually are by influenza; while those 25 and under are more seriously affected.
• Between April and Oct. 9, the start of the flu season in the northern hemisphere, there have been 5,000 deaths worldwide attributed to swine flu.
• Seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 annually. Just over 30 per cent of Canadians get an annual flu shot.
• As of Oct. 9, 76 infants have died from H1N1 flu in the U.S., which compares to entire-year totals of between 46 and 88 pediatric flu deaths over the past three years.
• Those who get the H1N1 flu can expect a range of flu symptoms but the vast majority recover without medical intervention.
• According to the Centre for Disease Control in the U.S., 70 per cent of those who have been hospitalized with H1N1 have compromised immunity, a category that includes pregnant women and young children as well as those with diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, cerebral palsy, HIV, obesity, asthma or other chronic lung diseases.
• The CDC and Health Canada have outlined what emergency signs to watch for in adults and children.

 

Need to Know: 7 Myths About Swine Flu

[Original Article]

Wash your hands with hot water to stop the spread of the virus.

True, frequent washing with soap and water is known to curb the spread of germs. The temperature of the water, however, makes no difference at all. In fact, a 2005 report in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found “no effect on transient or resident bacterial reduction” between people who washed their hands with temperatures ranging from 4.4-48.8 Celsius.

The call: When it comes to washing your hands, hot is no more effective than cold.

Avoid going out to public or crowded places

Malaysians are seen wearing face masks on Penang Island, Malaysia. (Vincent Thian/Associated Press)

Although limiting your contact with people and staying away from crowded places will, of course, make you less likely to catch the virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says this step is not necessary. According to the group, it is safe to go outside — basic flu prevention precautions are sufficient to curb the virus for healthy people who are not at high risk of complications. These precautions include avoiding people who are sick and avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

The call: Taking basic precautions is enough to help prevent you from catching swine flu.

Wearing a face mask keeps you safe

The effectiveness of face masks for the average person is questionable. The general belief among experts is that getting vaccines and washing hands frequently is more successful in stopping the spread of swine flu — or any other flu — than wearing a mask. Ironically, wearing a mask can make you more likely to catch a virus because it provides you with a false sense of security, making you less likely to remember to wash your hands or take other preventive measures. They become effective, however, if you are the one who is sick. Wearing a mask while you’re sick decreases the spread of airborne particles.

The call: Ditch the mask at home — unless you’re the one who’s sick.

If you get swine flu, rush to the ER

If your symptoms are mild, a trip to the emergency room will only have you put people at risk of catching the virus and expose you to other illnesses. The best thing to do if you have swine flu is to stay home, treat the symptoms and avoid infecting others. If you have risk factors or other medical problems then it’s best you see a doctor right away.

You should seek immediate medical attention if your symptoms are severe and you are having difficulty breathing, pain in the chest, dizziness, severe vomiting, or flu symptoms that improve only to return with fever and a strong cough.

The call: If your symptoms are mild, fighting the flu at home is your best remedy.

Taking Tamiflu is a good preventive measure against the virus

If you do catch swine flu, then taking Tamiflu will help you fight off the virus. However, taking this medicine when you’re not infected will only make your body, and the virus, more resistant to it.

The call: Avoid taking the medication, unless a doctor prescribes it to you.

It’s better to get the H1N1 virus now, while the symptoms are mild, than risk catching it later or getting vaccinated.

Since many swine flu cases in the spring were mild, some parents decided to purposely have their child come in contact with someone infected by the virus. That way they would get sick, recover, and develop immunity on their own. That’s not such a good idea, most health experts agree. That’s because every person reacts to the H1N1 virus differently. For some it’s not any different than the normal flu, but for others it could be fatal.

The call: Different people react differently to the virus. Always take precautions and don’t try to get swine flu.

People vaccinated against the seasonal flu are more likely to catch the H1N1 virus

Although a Canadian study found that those who received vaccines for the seasonal flu are twice as likely to catch swine flu, other countries have not found similar results. According to Dr. Donald Low, medical director of laboratories for the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, “What we’re going to be facing now and over the next several months is H1N1, and so that’s what you want to get vaccinated against.”

The call: Canadian health-care professionals are recommending that people over the age of 65 get the seasonal flu vaccine — because it poses a bigger threat to their health than the H1N1 virus. For everybody else, it’s the swine flu vaccine.

Signs and Symptoms of H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu)

[Original Article]

The flu develops quickly and can hit you hard and fast, usually in only a few hours.  The common cold takes time to develop in your body and can take a few days.

Here are some signs and symptom associated with the H1N1 virus…

• High fever above 38.5C for more than 2 days is common.  Colds do not normally produce a fever.
• Fatique
• Muscle soreness
• Sore throat
• Headaches
• Chills
• Decreased appetite
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Emergency Warning Signs

In children:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash

In adults:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting