Canadian researchers have found compelling evidence that closing schools is an effective way to control flu epidemics. Scientists at McMaster University in Ontario and elsewhere compared patterns of flu transmission with weather and school calendars in Alberta from April to December 2009. The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that transmission rates were linked to weather, but even more strongly to the closing of schools in the spring and their reopening in the [...]
H1N1(Swine Flu): The Fifth Guy – An Incredibly Creative Flu Prevention & Hand Hygiene Campaign
How do we get people interested and excited about something, well, as boring as hand hygiene? I admire folks who don’t just think outside of the box, but rather blow it up! This idea is one of those… The Approach The “Fifth Guy” campaign illustrates a simple point – most people respect certain hygienic norms. They stay home when they are sick. They cover their cough with their arm or a tissue. And they wash [...]
H1N1(Swine Flu): Illness Keeps Blood Donors Away, Worries About Whether Transfusions Spread Infection
If it’s not one thing then its another…now some blood centers are reporting an unusual drop in collections because too many potential donors are sick with the H1N1 virus. Blood drives in some high schools and corporate offices have had to be scaled back or canceled because of high levels of absenteeism. And to make the situation even a bit worse some centers say a growing number of donors are calling a day or two [...]
H1N1(Swine Flu): Ukraine Update; Panic in Iraq Schools
UKRAINE UPDATE WHO has issued an assessment of the situation in the Ukraine. Here is the timeline of events: October 28 – The Ukraine Ministry of Health (UMH) informed WHO about an unusually high level of acute respiratory illness activity in the western part of the country, associated with an increased number of hospital admissions and fatalities. October 20 – UMH announced the confirmation of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection by RT-PCR in eleven out [...]
