Swine Flu - Anyone concerned

[NewEnglandCamper]

I'm hearing a lot about the swine flu. My sister-in-law just got back from Mexico (thank goodness) and she is fine.
However there are now two sick children in a near by town of ours and one death in Texas? Anyone concerned? What precautions are you taking? Canceling any trips?

I've been under the weather but its more "hay-fever" allergic symptoms from all the pollen in the air vs. the flu.

[GaryWT]

It is weird that every ache or pain, you wonder what it is.  We have no plans other than going to camp so we have nothing to change at this time.

[Thats Camping!]

No, we're no more worried than any other normal flu. We don't get bothered by this sort of stuff, especially when the news usually over exaggerates everything!

I do worry a little about our parents, since they are older.

[NH Camping Family]

I agree w/Debbie.  I worry about the Swine Flu as much as I worry about the regular flu.  Wash your hands, stay home if you feel sick, etc.  I work in the medical field, so I'm exposed to lots of things all the time.  All I can say is "WASH YOUR HANDS!"

[NewEnglandCamper]

I agree I believe the media hyped this up (either that or people have been more careful).  This concern really faded with us over the weekend. Instead of swine flu I been having the pollen / "hay fever" allergies. May is always a tough month.

[twinnish]

If you've ever read anything about the 1918 flu pandemic, you'd understand why people are overreacting.  That was nasty.  Sometimes the flu killed a person in 24 hours, usually someone who was relatively young and in strapping good health.  But, it doesn't appear that this flu virus is as virulent as that.  What most people don't realize is that the common flu that goes around every year and barely gets a murmur in the news kills up to 500,000 people worldwide. 

I think the authorities are keeping a close eye on it because of what happened in 1918.  I'm not alarmed by it.  Just keep washing your hands and don't touch your face! 

[wersilly]

Any more info up north on the swine flu?  In PA, Milton Hershey School (which is a boarding school for underprivileged youth) was shut down a week early for summer and cancelled all their summer activities because of 17 or 18 confirmed cases on campus.  In the areas surrounding us, there are 100+ confirmed cases within 20 miles of where we live and 100+ in the Lancaster area which is about 50 miles or so from us. 

[Thats Camping!]

I haven't heard anymore about it really. It seemed to just fade out of the news, or maybe I haven't been listening for it.

From what I heard, it wasn't as big of a deal as they expected...which is good news.

ETA: you guys stay safe!

[bowcamper]

I heard an 'estimate' number from the CDC this morning -- over a million US cases, but only 28,000 reported cases.  Here's the quote and the link below to the article. I would like to see the science behind the estimate. I will also be interested to see how aggressively they pursue an 'epidemic' classification on this one in contrast to the many other rampant but less pc diseases that exist today 'formally' classified as an epidemic...
"Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made the 1 million estimate in a presentation to the vaccine panel. The number is from mathematical modeling, based on surveys by health officials.
Regular seasonal flu sickens anywhere from 15 million to 60 million Americans each year.
The United States has roughly half the world's swine flu cases, with nearly 28,000 reported to the CDC so far. The U.S. count includes 3,065 hospitalizations and 127 deaths.
The percentage of cases hospitalized has been growing, but that may be due to closer scrutiny of very sick patients. It takes about three days from the time symptoms appear to hospitalization, Finelli said, and the average hospital stay has been three days. "

http://money.aol.com/article/us-swine-flu-cases-may-have-hit-1/446911?flv=1

[MonIvy]

We had one confirmed case of swine flu at my daughter's high school (Hudson, NH) during the second to last week of school.  School was not closed, officials just asked parents to keep their child home if they were sick.

[GaryWT]

Have not read the entire story but headlines in our newspaper today stated 2 confirmed cases in 2 different schools in town but they kept it quiet and just kept those 2 kids out of school, it seemed to happen over a month ago.  Claimed to avoid a panic.

[familycampman]

I think the media blew this one out of proportion. Yes the swine flu is deadly, but every flu is deadly, especially to the elderly and very young children. This past Winter we had a very nasty flu that spread like wildfire and you didn't hear much at all from the press. Just remember to wash your hands and don't go kissing any pigs.

[Thats Camping!]

Been hearing a lot about Vitamin D (which actually isn't a vitamin at all) lately, and just found this video on Swine Flu and how vitamin D might be helpful protection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBFeuZ43SV8

Interesting stuff. They have some other good videos as well

[wersilly]

Anyone getting the vaccine?  I believe we will once it becomes available.  I just heard this morning that they expect it to be available next month and that it will be just one shot, not three as originally expected. 

[Thats Camping!]

we don't get flu vaccinations and this one is especially scary since it hasn't been properly tested