Sunday, September 13, 2009

500+ cases of swine flu and a student dies?????



(bowl by Gary Rith, purple flowers growing on our purple house)
The radio has the ABC news yesterday: swine flu tearing through college campuses, one of the worst RIGHT HERE: Cornell University, 500+ cases and a student has just died!
Sorta made me think twice before going there yesterday and then out for beers near campus, but we went up onto campus and washed hands repeatedly, but I wonder how it will be this week? Worse????? I mean, me and the missus both work over there!

14 comments:

denis said...

just drink whiskey every day and you won't worry about the swine flu.

Unknown said...

Ack! I'd be worried. Maybe take some zinc and drink a lot of OJ if you have to keep going back there. 500 cases?? That's a lot.

P.S. How about a bunch of that antibacterial stuff? Brian keeps a bottle in his FedEx truck to deal with all the germs he encounters.

Unknown said...

P.S.S. Lovin' the inch worm. :D

Anonymous said...

I vote for the Bottle that u use anywhere anitbacterial, YIKES that's alot in just one area. We had a PLAGUE case just last week. Squirrle dies in Castle Rock tested for the PLAGUE....YIKES

Anonymous said...

I vote for the Bottle that u use anywhere anitbacterial, YIKES that's alot in just one area. We had a PLAGUE case just last week. Squirrle dies in Castle Rock tested for the PLAGUE....YIKES

Patricia Griffin Ceramics said...

Yer gonna be fine. Just keep washing those hands!

Emily SIL said...

Sort of makes you want to wear a dust mask and gloves everywhere you go.

Dez said...

Oh Gary, that is such terrible news! Are the authorities advising wearing masks? If so, you should too! Yes, and sanitizers everwhere! Are the custodials cleaning the desks/furniture and all? Oh, so scary. Please be safe!

Dez said...

PS: Beatiful Bowl!!

Gordo said...

This has been blown way out of proportion. The only difference between this flu and the regular flu is that H1N1 hasn't died down over the summer. It's no more deadly than the annual stuff and 1 death in 500 cases is actually a pretty decent survival rate.

Wikipedia says the student population at Cornell is 39,600. 500 cases of the flu makes for an infection rate of 1%. For comparison, the 1918 flu's infection rate was almost 50%.

Chill, everybody. Chill.

I'll tell you what: our neighbour across the street is the local health unit's "Director of Pandemic Preparedness". When Anna says it's time to panic, I'll let ya know.

cindy shake said...

Good on ya' Gordo.

We've got it up here in Alaska as well. The people (and child) who died all had underlying or additional health/viral issues. Our prayers are with those who have died. Stay calm, stay rested, wash, wash, wash, cover your cough's with your sleeves and DON'T SPREAD UNNECESSARY PANIC. please.

kate et jim said...

Ah Gord - thanks for relaying a voice of reason and calm.

Reasonable hand washing and I always have a bottle of the 'stuff' in the car to scrub the crud off, after shopping (ugh - the handles on shopping carts) but pure and simple common sense always works.

Gary - have you begun the vinegar and honey routine yet this season? We have.

Unknown said...

I'm really not worried about the flu too much. My husband works for Cornell, too, AND I have three kids in the school district. I read that most of the students reporting symptoms are at home, not at school.

My MIL freaked out when I told her I wasn't getting my kids vaccinated. I never have, so why now?

It all boils down to having some common sense and practicing good hygiene.

Incidentally, I took Jacob to the pediatrician's office yesterday for a cough he's had for over a month now. We were there two weeks ago, and the doctor said he had a viral infection. I've NEVER seen the office so busy on a Saturday. And every kid (and his parent) that came in with a cough was instructed to wear a face mask. I felt ridiculous knowing Jacob did not have the flu. He was bouncing around the office, and you could just tell he wasn't sick! Turns out - most likely an allergy to ragweed and/or mold. His cough is due to post-nasal drip.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

I'm counting on Gord to keep us in-the-know. In the meantime, a daily shot of whiskey might be a good plan, eh?