flu epidemic

Of the 6 billion people on the planet, only hundreds in all walks of life have caught it. Unless it becomes a pandemic, your car ride to the airport should be your biggest worry.

Don't worry,, more people died in Canada and America of the regular type flus each year then have died of this one. Plus,, the way to avoid it is easy,, wash your hands, often, and wipe down surfaces like your tray table on the plane with a disinfecting wipe,, other then that, relax.

We even have had a few cases here where I live,, and the people are fine, walking and talking( on t.v of course),, they seem like they just have regular flu. Unfortunately the ones most likely to die from any flu are the very young, the very old, the already sick with something else, or those with little or no assess to good medical care.

If you are nervous, I volunteer to take your trip for you, I am going in July this year,, but I would not be against going twice ! LOL

The latest news is that the virus may not even be as dangerous as people are originally thinking. I sure hope the hysteria dies down soon. The regular flu is probably more likely and more dangerous than the swine flu.

Today I read that two different research groups estimate that, as a worst case scenario, approximately 1700 Americans will get the swine flu. Unless you have a very weak immune system and every cold and flu season is a threat, don't worry about it. Go, and have a great time. BTW, I leave in 7 days. :-)

Olivia,

I'm absolutely NOT worried about the H1N1 Flu, do NOT have "second thoughts", WILL NOT be postponing my next trip to Europe at the end of the month and WILL NOT be wearing a goofy Mask!

As Pat said, reasonable precautions will minimize catching the Flu (if exposed to it). The fact is that those who have contracted the Flu in the U.S. and Canada have so far been described as having "mild" symptoms. In other words, this is much the same as the seasonal Flu and they should get over it without any problems. If I do happen to contract it, I'll be miserable for a few days or a week, and will then recover as I have in the past.

Also, one medical expert that was interviewed on the News a few minutes ago stated that many older people (which probably includes me) have built-up a higher immunity to various strains of the Flu during their lifetimes so may have greater resistance and perhaps "immunity".

I haven't seen any information so far that indicates why this strain is any more serious or contagious than the normal seasonal Flu that appears every Fall & Winter? AFAIK there are no vaccines available for H1N1 yet and even when these are available, they will only protect against specific strains; people will still be vulnerable to any others which may occur.

I'm going to carry-on as usual.

Cheers!

I'm leaving in 6 days and not at all worried. Like someone said, the drive to the airport is a bigger risk than the threat of getting this flu on the trip. I am just working to stay healthy so I don't develop a cough or anything that would make other people nervous!

I leave next Sunday, my only worry is how others are reacting to the hysteria. As has been stated many times, if we all take the basic precautions of washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes we have little to worry about. It's the hysterical reactions that concern me. I still intend to eat pork, I'm not about to kiss any pigs though whether bovine or human. Gonna leave on May 10th, gonna have a great time and not look back!

Wow,, FA ,, your paper boy even knows what you do for a living,, I am pretty sure ours( who we have had for years) hasn't a clue what we do... guess thats a good thing, as if all paper boys were like that , who would deliver newpapers to doctors, nurses and school teachers either!

I don't think anyone needs to do anything other then wash their hands, use sanitzer( often) and hopefully no piggy sick person( and I do NOT mean just sick from Swine flu, but any illness) will cough in their faces( it amazes me how sick people insist on going out in public and coughing all over the place, STAY HOME sickos)

I am typing this from the Delta Crown Room in Atlanta.

Last Wed I flew from Hoston to Atlanta.

Today I head to Florida

Thursday I fly back to Atlanta

Saturday I fly to Madrid.

I don't have a mask, supply of Tamiflu, etc...

(I don't see anyone around me with a mask either!)

Life goes on.... and CNN has moved on to the Dallas Cowboys accident!

This particular virus doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. Health officials can't really say that it's no big deal because there is always a chance (even if remote) the virus can mutate into something deadly. It appeared very serious when the first numbers came out of Mexico but doesn't seem that way now.

I spoke to a woman in Mexico city last week and asked her about it. She said it's not typical to visit the doctor when you get sick. Instead people visit the pharmacist, tell them their symptoms and pick up a non-prescription medicine (many drugs are non-prescription but not Tamiflu). She thought the people who showed up in hospitals were late stage, very serious cases of the flu (Tamiflu works well early).

She also said that the flu started happening when people came back from vacations outside of Mexico city.

In Mexico, health officials were first studying what they thought was an interesting spread of pneumonia before they realised it was a flu.

We were in Cozumel and the coast in March and thought we came home with a really bad cold but now think it was the flu. I always thought the flu was nausea and diarrhea but this one is fever, chills, achy body, sore throat and cough (with secondary pneumonia). Some have nausea and diarrhea but most haven't had those symptoms.

If you get sick, look for the fever as the time to check in with a doctor. For the first 1-3 days you may not have any symptoms. If you're just sneezing and sniffling but don't get a serious fever, it's probably something else.

I continue to commit myself to proper hand washing technique as usual.

Some F/A's are wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) once their flight operation is completed. Some F/A's have been told NOT to wear PPE ie: N95 Masks/Nitrile Gloves on board the aircraft b/c it apparently "alarms Passengers".

There is fear out there though. The Paper carrier was told by his Parents not to deliver the paper to "That Flight Attendant's house b/c you never know where they have been or what they have got". Ignorance is everywhere!

It made me laugh and I wanted to show up at the kid's door and ask for the newspaper just to freak them out!

Yes Pat, the paperboy is smart. He recognizes a Flight Attendant in uniform! Can't miss it...Navy Blue Blazer and Skirt, High Heels, Blue Silk Scarf, Hair pinned up, pearl earrings, red lips and shiny silver wings to boot!

I think I must have complained about Mexico flights at one time when asked where I was off to...so the gossip mill said that I must go there often...which I do not.

Actually many Canadian flights to Mexico have been suspended until June 1st.

Just FYI, here is a Canadian link regarding travel notices and advisories:
www.voyage.gc.ca

Safe Skies,
F/A

I'm not going to Europe until November, but if I were going anytime soon, I would go without any concerns.
But, I heard on the news something that happened in China. In a hotel, only one person has the Swine flu and now 300 guests and workers are in quarantine!
Here is the link for more information...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/01/swine-flu-china-quarantin_n_194684.html

Flight Attendant,

The ignorance of your Paper carrier and those who told him not to deliver to your house is almost beyond belief. There seems to be a lot of over reaction to this situation, bordering on the ludicrous!

Even suspending flights to Mexico is a bit silly IMHO. I wonder if the authorities will be suspending flights to Alberta next, as Swine Flu has been discovered on a Farm there (according to news reports, one of the Farm Workers recently returned from a holiday in Mexico).

I'm trying to put this in somewhat of a logical perspective. As the situation stands at this point, about 110 people have been affected in a country of 33+million. In every case so far the symptoms have been described as "mild" and those that have contracted the Flu are recovering well. I haven't quite figured out how this is different than the average Flu season every winter or how this could become a "pandemic"? Judging by past history, even if a vaccine is formulated for this particular strain, there's no guarantee this will also protect against the next strain that appears.

At this point, I'm not changing any part of my normal routine.

Cheers!

I think part of the reason why the Flights to Mexico were suspended is b/c the demand for travel there was significantly reduced. It didn't make sense to fly planes down half empty. And I can predict that a lot of F/A's who are ignorant would call in sick out of fear not the facts which causes another problem.

If enough Crew members call in "sick" (think SARS, Avian Flu, Gay Pride) then they call up the F/A's on reserve...if that doesn't work then they are in what they call a "Draft Position" which means no one wants to work so they offer a bonus cash incentive to motivate you to take a flight on your day off as long as you have had your minimum Crew Rest. And that costs.

"I think part of the reason why the Flights to Mexico were suspended is b/c the demand for travel there was significantly reduced. It didn't make sense to fly planes down half empty."

The voice of truth LOL!

Seriously, the airlines are losing money. While they are "marketing" this as "public safety" I think it's more economically motivated! They can't afford to fly those things empty or pay Flight Attendant's salary to sit on an empty plane.

If many people are cancelling their airline flight reservations for international travel, because of the current flu pandemic, I think that is a rational and reasonable decision. When there is an influenza pandemic, or epidemic, people in an enclosed space with many people, such as in a big airplane, are at risk of getting the disease. Flu can be very contagious from an infected person who does not have any symptoms. I am aware that there can be hysteria that is unwarranted. In February of 2001, thousands of people cancelled their airline reservations for flights to Germany, because of a disease epidemic in Germany that infected cattle only. The airlines responded to that by lowering prices for airline tickets for flights to Germany. In April of 2001 some people paid $ 285. (U.S. Dollars) (total, including tax and airport fees) for Northwest Airlines flights from St. Louis Missouri, U.S.A. to Frankfurt Germany (via Detroit), and return to St. Louis. I was in Germany in May of 2001 : there was no human disease epidemic in Germany. But this time, it is different. Humans are sick in many countries, and some humans died. Medical scientists (virologists) now know that the influenza epidemic in the year 1918 that killed 112 Million people internationally in six months was caused by the H1N1 virus, spread from pigs or hogs, and spread from humans to humans. Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the virus is becoming less deadly for humans (people). But, the virus is mutating. We do not know what the result will be one month from now, or three months from now. Read about it in NEWSWEEK magazine, May 11, 2009.

Ron, I think that comparing flu deaths from 1918, before the discovery of penicillin to flu deaths today is a completely odd comparison. They have nothing to do with each other. No more people have died from this flu than from any other flus that are floating around out there today. Or do you have different statistics? As to the Mad Cow disease, that was not just in Germany. Have you not seen how many cows were slaughtered in the UK? This was a disease that came from eating infected meat and so has nothing to do with contagious airborne diseases. It is like comparing apples to oranges.

The whole swine flu thing is a media frenzy and feeding it by saying folks should cancel their trips is irresponsible in my eyes.

At one of the web pages of the website of the World Health Organization is "About The Disease" (1 May, 2009) : "Question -- Why are we so worried about this pandemic possibility when thousands die every year from seasonal epidemics ? Answer -- Seasonal epidemics occur every year and we are able to treat the virus with seasonal vaccines. A pandemic is a worldwide epidemic. It is a new virus and one to which the populations have no immunity".

I am sadly not going anywhere this year, but wouldn't be cancelling any trips even if I was. I spend every day of my life in crowded tube trains and buses with hundreds of people including many foreign travellers. I'm sure many people come into contact with huge numbers of people through work and social activities. This flu could be here for ages and it's just not practical to put your life on hold and that includes travel.

So Ron, WHY didn't those same people cancel thier trips this past winter when the CDC reports on fewer then 800 people a WEEK died from the "flu"? LOTS fewer have diend from this "epidemic" and it's a "reasonalbe" precaution?

The difference... CNN didn't report the 800 deaths a week so you didn't feel the need to take "reasonable" precuations.

Jo and Carol : When I composed my first reply here, I was thinking -- "If some people decided to not be in airplanes flying to Europe during an international flu epidemic, as a precaution -- I will not say to those people : you should be in an airplane flying to Europe".

Ron, I think you might have misread the article. WHO said they do NOT recommend changing your travel plans UNLESS you are ill with these flu syptoms.

This is article is from the WHO website today: www.who.int/en/

11 May 2009 -- As of 06:00 GMT, 11 May 2009, 30 countries have officially reported 4694 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 1626 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 48 deaths. The United States has reported 2532 laboratory confirmed human cases, including three deaths. Canada has reported 284 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Costa Rica has reported eight laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Argentina (1), Australia (1), Austria (1), Brazil (8), China (2, comprising 1 in China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and 1 in mainland China), Colombia (3), Denmark (1), El Salvador (4), France (13), Germany (11), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (7), Italy (9), Japan (4), Netherlands (3), New Zealand (7), Norway (2), Panama (15), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (3), Spain (95), Sweden (2), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (47).

WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Individuals who are ill should delay travel plans and returning travelers who fall ill should seek appropriate medical care. These recommendations are prudent measures which can limit the spread of many communicable diseases, including influenza.

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO web site on a regular basis.

A safe recommendation: DO NOT RELY on the commercial media (or quasi-commercial media in the case of the BBC) for information regarding disease outbreaks. The media reports have been littered with inaccuracies, misrepresentations and facts and figures taken completely out of context. Get your information directly from reputable public health resources like the CDC and WHO.

Ron,
"The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends delaying travel plans (to prevent getting infected by the virus, which is very contagious). The number of reported cases of influenza (H1N1) in the U.S.A. is expected to greatly increase, soon, as medical laboratories in the states are receiving kits for testing human blood for that virus, this week."

Where are you getting this information? This is not at all what the WHO website says.

From the 6:00 GMT update on the WHO website:

" WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Individuals who are ill should delay travel plans and returning travelers who fall ill should seek appropriate medical care. These recommendations are prudent measures which can limit the spread of many communicable diseases, including influenza."

But where on the WHO website does it "recommends delaying travel plans (to prevent getting infected by the virus, which is very contagious)"?

In a recent statement from the Center for Disease Control (in the United States of America) : "More cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths from this outbreak will occur over the coming days and weeks". And : a great increase in confirmed cases is also likely because the Center for Disease Control has developed a kit for testing, that is being distributed across the United States and Puerto Rico, and internationally. The Center for Disease Control said "This increase in testing capacity is likely to result in an increase in the number of reported confirmed cases in the country, which should provide a more accurate picture of the burden of disease in the United States".

Ron, am I missing something, that still does not say anything about "recommending delaying travel".

Ron, thousands die of regular flus every year in Canada and States. You do know that right?

I think as pointed out by another poster that there is no point in avoiding travel ,, as we are all exposed to other people in public areas every day.

I know that the 10 or 15 cases in France sure doesn't deter me from going there this summer, no way! Now, if there were all of a sudden thousands,, that might be a different story.

I think I have disco fever. Can I still travel too?

Disco fever is fine. Boogie Fever, however, will get you quarantined.

We just got back from our Mexican Riviera cruise..however, we were never allowed to stop in Mexico! Instead we were re-routed to Southern CA. I haven't heard anything about what is going on now, but I wonder if our So Ca exposure was worse than Mexico would have been? Can't worry too much, anything could be anywhere. In fact, just before our trip I got out of the hospital with E Coli infection..who knows where I got that?? You just can't worry about it.