The new Harvard study, “The Public's Response to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic,” found that, while “early in the pandemic, when no vaccine was available a majority of Americans were quick to adopt two central public health recommendations.” In the event of another influenza pandemic, a “substantial portion of the public” may not be so willing to get immunized with another new flu vaccine.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that “in the pandemic's first weeks, almost two thirds of Americans (59 percent to 67 percent) said that they or someone in their family had begun to wash their hands or clean them with sanitizer more frequently, and a majority (55 percent) had made preparations to stay at home if they or a family member got sick,” the study found. “It was also recommended that people avoid exposure to others with influenza-like symptoms, and 35 percent to 38 percent said they had done that.”

More via Homeland Security Today – preparedness and security news – Study Examines Public Behavior During H1N1 Pandemic.

THE cost of garlic is officially on the nose. Shoppers are being charged up to $30 a kilo, or double the usual price, amid global shortages. Swine flu fears that swept China late last year created massive demand there for the bulb and its rumoured health benefits, eating into worldwide supply.

via Cost of garlic hard to digest | Herald Sun.

The NHS is being forced to cut services because of the huge costs of the swine flu scare that proved unfounded.

A survey has found that as many as one in six health trusts may have to slash services – or already have done so – to recoup costs.

The cuts required to pay for swine flu preparations are on top of the cuts needed after the election as the NHS adjusts to a post-credit crunch world.

via NHS slashes services to meet costs of swine flu scare | Mail Online.

Although I had never heard of Mr. Payack’s site, apparently he has taken it upon himself to compile, for the last six years, a list of what he deems the ten most politically incorrect words in the English language. Topping the list is a phrase we use all the time on this blog, “swine flu.” We’ve even discussed — several times — the back-and-forth over what it should be called and we’ve always opted for “swine flu.” His reason for putting it at the top of the list of politically incorrect names is that government agencies in various countries and intergovernmental bodies like WHO and FAO have tried to use other names to placate the pork industry.

via Is “swine flu” the most politically incorrect phrase in the English language? : Effect Measure.

A DVD advising children about tackling swine flu has been launched at a Birmingham school which was hit by an outbreak of the virus in May. Nearly 200 people connected to Welford Primary School in Handsworth were diagnosed with the virus including 44 people who were diagnosed in one week. The DVD has guidance for both teachers and children.

via BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | DVD launched at swine flu school.

A very thoughtful paper, far removed from the knee jerk rantings of some newspaper columnists.

If the 2009 influenza pandemic turns severe, far exceeding the impact of seasonal influenza, early and enhanced surveillance may prove to have bought critical time to prepare a vaccine that could reduce morbidity and mortality. The negative effect on the pork and travel industries, the discrimination some felt for the “crime” of catching a new disease, the mandatory isolation of uninfected people, and the substantial public money invested into pandemic preparations will probably be said to, on balance, have been far better than being caught unprepared for a severe pandemic.

But if this pandemic does not increase in severity, it may signal the need to reassess both the risk assessment and risk management strategies towards emerging infectious diseases. The SARS outbreak showed that large numbers of infected people are not necessary to generate concern and fear over disease. The SARS virus is known to have affected only 8096 people globally, but the fear of infection, involuntary quarantine, travel restrictions and subsequent political antagonisms, and at least $18bn in losses were felt by far more. It was not the virus but the response to it that caused these social and economic harms.

via Calibrated response to emerging infections — Doshi 339: b3471 — BMJ.

This report describes the assessment of the secondary attack rate (SAR) and the effectiveness of post-exposure antiviral prophylaxis among household contacts in the first domestic outbreak of a novel influenza A(H1N1)v between mid-May and early June 2009 in Kobe city, Japan. Of the 293 subjects, 14 (4.8%) household contacts met the case definition and most secondary cases were probably infected around the time of symptom onset date of the respective index case. The SAR among household contacts who did not receive prophylaxis was 7.6%, similar to the rate of seasonal influenza, and the attack rate in siblings was significantly higher than that in parents. We conclude that it is important to establish routine infection control measures for households in order to prevent the spread of the virus among household contacts and, possibly, to the community. We could not conclude whether antiviral prophylaxis was effective or not. However, among close contacts with underlying disease who received prophylaxis, nobody developed a severe form of the disease.

via Eurosurveillance – View Article.

New guidance issued by the CIPD and the Business Continuity Institute BCI warns that absence rates will soar during a predicted second wave of the highly contagious flu now that schools return from the summer break.The prediction that half the working population could be absent at the same time is far above the Government’s guidance that sickness rates could reach 12pc, but both organisations said companies ought to prepare for the worst.

via Swine flu: 50pc of working population could take time off – Telegraph.

Reasonable enough, but could not the administration coordinate an information process via media oulets to inform the public on when they can expect the vaccine shots to be available? Where people can go if they have limited or no health care insurance? Just how dire is this flu strain perceived? We’re not getting a whole lot of information on this matter. We’ve heard a lot of “what ifs”, “what might happens”, and overall many people are outright confused.

It shouldn’t have to be this way. For what seemed like an eternity, both electronic media and government worked for months prepping people on the conversion from analogue to high-definition TV broadcasting. The government and broadcast officials laid out a specific plan for citizens to adapt to the new system. Too bad they couldn’t handle the Swine flu information with the tenacity and accuracy they did in the HD switch-over.

Right now, many of us don’t have a real, pardon the expression, ‘pulse, on this subject. It’s in the back of our minds and we don’t know whether to be fully alarmed or push it aside as just a normal case of medical jitters. And that’s just the problem. Our media isn’t helping. Almost every other day, we get conflicting accounts of the potential lethalness to this particular influenza.

via City Brights: Rich Lieberman : Swine flu media coverage: hysteria over information?.

SCHOOLS have been put on alert to stop kids who have had swine flu being BULLIED when they go back to class.Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said that if the taunting becomes “serious or violent” schools could even call in police.

via Schools’ swine flu bully fear | The Sun |News.