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Post by mslibrarian on Apr 26, 2009 14:00:41 GMT -5
So here it is, 3 days before I fly out and we've got a "public medical emergency" going on. This is sad  Poeple have said I shouldn't go but now we've got 4 confirmed cases here in Nova Scotia so why stay?  The media overreacting? |
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Post by WillTravel on Apr 26, 2009 15:13:44 GMT -5
The good thing is that the cases outside of Mexico don't appear to be fatal so far.
I remember having a similar concern for one trip which was around the time of the SARS problem.
I think that there is a certain amount of risk you can't avoid in life, but every indication so far is that this flu is only a very small risk to you.
I went to a party last night where there were undoubtedly some people who had returned from Mexico recently, and I wondered if I should avoid the food, but I decided it was unlikely to help.
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Post by Eagle on Apr 26, 2009 23:15:30 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this is a case of the "media over reacting", but this topic seems to be getting lots of airtime lately. Our local News Hour here took about 15 minutes at the beginning of the broadcast covering various aspects of this current Flu outbreak. So far the most severe cases seem to have occurred in Mexico, and the medical experts are speculating that due to the poor air quality in Mexico City, many people have compromised respiratory systems to begin with and therefore were more severely affected.
I'll be travelling in about a month, but hopefully this won't be a problem in Europe?
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Post by mslibrarian on Apr 27, 2009 7:30:26 GMT -5
I'm starting to get quite concerned about this. Not so much getting stick, but now the EU has recommended the cancellation of any non-essential travel to the US and we've got 4 cases here in Nova Scotia.
I just don't know what to do. Canceling at this point will cost me a fortune and I don't want to do it.
But now it's in Europe as well, with confirmed case in Spain and suspected cases in Scotland. Mexico is a hot travel destination and were just coming off their biggest tourist time.
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Post by WillTravel on Apr 27, 2009 14:21:27 GMT -5
Are you worried that you are a risk to the EU public? I think the odds are so slight that you can safely disregard that and just enjoy your trip.
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Post by mslibrarian on Apr 27, 2009 15:25:32 GMT -5
I'm not worried about being a risk, although I don't live far from where the Nova Scotia outbreak is. Our provincial public health chief has said he does expect it to spread through Nova Scotia in the next few weeks though.
I'm more worried aobut it getting back while I'm over there or getting caught in some type of travel restricted quarintine.
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Post by WillTravel on Apr 27, 2009 15:38:56 GMT -5
What does your travel insurance policy cover? I think that if it got that serious enough that you were quarantined from plane travel returning home, which seems unlikely, then we would be in an extremely severe predicament worldwide, and being home wouldn't help much. I think that your costs are covered by the government that puts you in quarantine.
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Post by crystal on May 13, 2009 15:12:55 GMT -5
Just to give you a UK update on this.
Swine flu has been getting A LOT of coverage within the media. We have had around 18 cases confirmed but most of those have been people coming back from Mexico. Holidays and flights to Mexico have been cancelled. However the cases do not seem to be as serious as the ones in Mexico. None have proved fatal and most people have been back on their feet within a few days.
I can't help wondering if this has been wiped up by the media to be more serious than it really is. Afterall people died every year in every country from different types of flu. Obviously caution is sensible especially regarding your insurance but I wouldn't cancel your plans.
I think cases have been confirmed in Italy as well but I don't know the details.
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Post by Eagle on May 13, 2009 23:55:11 GMT -5
Crystal, those are my sentiments exactly! I can understand the authorities being afraid of a Pandemic, but I think they over reacted a bit this time. I believe we have about 150 cases reported in Canada so far, but the rate of new cases seems to have slowed considerably.
I tried to put the whole situation in perspective - 150 cases in a country of 33 million (or so), with virtually all of the cases being described as "mild". There has only been one fatality, but the individual involved had a number of lung and other problems which no doubt contributed to the severity in that case. This doesn't seem much different than the average Flu season every winter.
Hopefully this situation will end soon and everything will return to "normal".
Cheers!
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Post by herrbert on May 16, 2009 5:22:33 GMT -5
That was also the reaction of a Dutch historian yesterday. He is a really down to Earth guy (a bit grumpy, but alway direct). He said that also the media had done a lot of harm, by keep referring to the Spanish flu. But also pointer out that that pandemic, came to Europe after 4 years of war, the lacking in food and medicins, so that the situation back then, and the situation now are not comparible at all.
He also told that the media should stop referring to the great depression in the 30's when they talk about the financial crisis of today. circumstances then were fundamentally different, so to compare them is useless.
In general he stated that we should learn from history, but not use it in a way to spread fear, as the media is doing today, by comparing things that can't be compared.
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