Don't Get Out Monday: Swine Flu Talk at UW
With a steady stream of information and misinformation about the current outbreak of swine flu swirling about, the UW Department of Global Health has put together a panel discussion, "Update on the Evolving Swine Influenza Outbreak," set for Monday, May 4, at 5:30 p.m. in Hogness (no kidding) Auditorium in the Health Sciences Building. Directions can be found here.
In keeping with the new "social distancing," we urge you not to attend, but if you must know more, here are the details.
It’s a strong panel that includes David Fleming, MD, the director and public health officer for Seattle & King County; Kathleen Neuzil, MD, director of the Influenza Vaccine Project, PATH, and Chair of the Influenza Working Group of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices; and Ann Marie Kimball, MD, director of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Emerging Infections Network, and a professor of Epidemiology, University of Washington.
By the way, US government and international health officials are now referring the flu as H1N1 influenza A. The name change is unlikely to take hold, "swine flu" sounds so much more sinister, but officials hope it might stem the slaughter of pigs around the world. In a sign of mass hysteria, pigs are being thoughtlessly killed in response to the outbreak. For the record, cooking or eating pork will not give you the flu, but it seems that fact isn’t going to stop officials from their pound of pork flesh.
In other signs of mass hysteria, VP Joe Biden has advised all citizens to avoid “closed places” including airplanes.
Locally, there now look to be thirteen unconfirmed cases in Washington, including a pediatrician who apparently saw 22 patients while contagious with the flu. Tests confirming the H1N1 virus will come back by the end of the week. Don't panic, says Dr. Joe Mercola. Read his analysis.
For now, stay alert, wash hands and don’t put your hands to your face. Ever. It's not polite.
