I got a letter from my daughter's school today...

[Nick]

My youngest comes home today with a letter from the school...

Seems one of the teachers is off with a case that is suspected swine flu.

Now seeing that the young and healthy are most at risk, I applaud the school's action, and that of the teacher concerned, in isolating the teacher AND sending us a letter so we know there's a risk.

Of course, it doesn't make it any better that there's a chance the kids have been exposed to it, but here's hoping it's just a bout of standard flu... which we'll know before the kids break up for the summer.

[CaseyV9]

Not good is it?

When all this first got brought up I guess I, and other people didn't think it would get that bad.

But not long afterwards I was at the supermarket. The woman on the till was talking to the woman in front of me.
She said that she was going to Mexico on holiday in a few months time. She said she didn't care about the deaths in mexico and swine at all and she was still going.

I remember thinking to myself that with that attitude, we'll all be infected in no time.

[this_is_gav]

I remember thinking to myself that with that attitude, we'll all be infected in no time.

I'll give you a few weeks to devise a nice shiny 21st century noose. You might as well. You see doom and armageddon in the slightest of things it seems.

Nice sympathy and/or confidence vote though.

Please note - sarcasm may be present in the above.

[Barrichello]

The school where my mother teaches has had 6 confirmed cases with 4 pupils and 2 teachers over the last week (its pretty bad down here in London) All have said that it was like a bad cold/minor flu (and were off for a couple of days) Government has confirmed there is no point closing the school due to the years affected (the junior school is closed though)

While its good to know that for those the symptoms were not that bad, this news is rather worrying..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8145389.stm

[santa claus]

....there's a chance the kids have been exposed to it....

...you too of course

[0iD]

The mrs, a district nurse has been told officially that swine flu has been downgraded & that it's not generally as serious as normal flu. What experts are worried about is that it 'may' mutate into something more serious, and it's effects on the old & infirm. Schools around here are now told that there is no need to worry unnecessarily about it.

The yanks are apparently holding swine flu parties for their kids so they get exposed to the current , less virulent form so they have some sort of immunity 'should' it mutate.

[AledJ]

The yanks are apparently holding swine flu parties for their kids so they get exposed to the current , less virulent form so they have some sort of immunity 'should' it mutate.

Trust the Yanks to do that !!! I assume they will take the same approach with other illness and disease :| Honestly, its scary to think there the more powerful nation <shivers>

[divinemadness]

Now seeing that the young and healthy are most at risk

Has that actually been properly confirmed?

I thought it was the case that initially this was believed due to the deaths in Mexico but subsequently it was reported those cases had other complications leading to the deaths and swine flu is no more or less dangerous to young healthy people than any other kind of flu?

[SHare]

Yeah, the speculation is that some of the older genereations seem to be less likely to catch as they may have had a similar flu at some point in their life and have a resistance. Its all unconfirmed though. What is confirmed is that its just flu.

[TeePee]

Trust the Yanks to do that !!! I assume they will take the same approach with other illness and disease :| Honestly, its scary to think there the more powerful nation <shivers>

Actually this makes a lot of sense. By insulating children from every microbe we prevent them from developing a normal immune system.

[TooNice]

There is one extreme and another.

[Whiternoise]

I wouldn't worry Nick, unless your kids have serious underlying respiratory or other health problems even if the catch it they should be fine after a dose of Tamiflu and some old fashioned bed rest.

Swine Flu is, mostly, media hype. Yes, people have died, but most have been in Mexico and almost all the deaths outside the region have been due to other causes where the swine flu has agitated the patients' condition or have simply died whilst being infected. I don't recall any deaths in the UK that have actually been attributed solely to swine flu. Yes it may have been a factor, but it's not the cause - i.e. no worse than normal flu.

If anything, be glad they get it now rather than in the winter when it'll likely be far more virulent.

[MSIC]

It's really hard to seperate fact from fiction with this. Swine flu is serious it seems, however during the last 6 months around 15 people with cases of swine flu people have unfortunately died.
In the same time period generally there would be around 2000 people die from regular flu over the last 6 months alone, in the UK alone.
So should it be taken seriously? I think so. But in proportion to car accidents, injuries in the home etc etc.
I was forwarded the following , suggesting that all homes should have the following kit available, preferably in some sort of 'cold and flu' box:

[Lucio]

Well, in Hertfordshire at least, they've given up trying to contain swine flu and have moved onto widespread, prompt treatment for all suspected cases. Mrs Lucio is actually been placed on charge of her unit's response to the disease


One useful piece of information that I think is missing the public eye is that to get infected you either need to a) stand in a room with an infected person for a few hours or b) expose yourself to any secretions from an infected person (e.g. mucus, saliva etc.) and then transfering them onto your eyes, nose or mouth.

Basically the best way to steer clear of this is to simply clean your hands after expected contact, easiest way being getting a bottle of alchohol gel to do it anywhere.

[sammyc]

...She said that she was going to Mexico on holiday in a few months time. She said she didn't care about the deaths in mexico and swine at all and she was still going.
I remember thinking to myself that with that attitude, we'll all be infected in no time.

Fair comment, this is all down to thoughtless globetrotters pig pun, sorry
and people swanning abroad for pretentious foreigny honeymoons & so forth.

Seriously I am worried enough, I am prepared to take my chances with various acts of God, disasters, the LHC, etc, in fact bring it on, but am I being finished off by some filthy little microscopic blighter? Not my exit of choice.

I was forwarded the following , suggesting that all homes should have the following kit available, preferably in some sort of 'cold and flu' box:

You are also supposed to have one or more of these http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/447...end__says_PCT/

Out of interest, is it just my memory serving me badly or did there used to be less made out of flu, the risks etc, every year - one time it was just 'winter, colds 'n' flu about, blah blah' but recently when it hits germ season it seems like there's this big FLU! FLU! FLU!! panicky flavour in the media. Is this because of expectations that a pandemic must be ever nearer or just general modern day "danger danger everywhere" mentality?

Hope you stay clear of it anyway Nick, are you keeping your daughter away from school or have they broken up?

[Singh400]

My youngest comes home today with a letter from the school...

Seems one of the teachers is off with a case that is suspected swine flu.

Now seeing that the young and healthy are most at risk, I applaud the school's action, and that of the teacher concerned, in isolating the teacher AND sending us a letter so we know there's a risk.

Of course, it doesn't make it any better that there's a chance the kids have been exposed to it, but here's hoping it's just a bout of standard flu... which we'll know before the kids break up for the summer.

It's nothing to worry about. It's actually milder than "normal" flu.

Takes like a standard 3-5 days to recover.

The panic is only down to the experts worrying about teh swine and teh normal mixing to create a super-bad-virus.