i am fascinated with the pandemic of the swine flu. i watched both the who and the canadian minister of health news conferences today and was totally impressed with the information they gave, the professionalism they exuded, and the warnings they gave to the media to keep their reporting from becoming sensational and panic stricken and to doctors in their prescription of the antivirus to treat the flu.
i also learned that those masks are not very good at preventing flu transmissions, that there is only one testing facility in canada (in winnipeg) to confirm the virus is swine flu, and the differences between the flu vaccine and the antivirus used to treat it.
at first i thought that the world was over reacting and that if people are getting the swine flu and not even needing to be admitted into the hospital, it cannot truly be such a problem. but then i washed away my western bias and realised that if a flu of this nature got into the informal settlements in the developing world or if people contract the flu in countries without the health infrastructure that we have in canada, it would be absolutely devastating.
in watching the coverage of the pandemic, it makes me want to be involved in some way. perhaps because i used to work for an organisation that has a huge migration health department, which is no doubt mobilising to address the swine flu. just as i do when i hear about disasters, conflicts, and emergency responses of other natures. maybe i am an activist at heart, or just have an adventure seeking spirit. but i am busy as bee here doing what i do, so i am quite content to stay put and wait until it is my time to get more involved again.
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