Swine Flu: What We Should Do for One Another

What follows is a guest post by Ruth A. Karron and Ruth R. Faden. Ruth A. Karron is the director of the Center for Immunization Research and Johns Hopkins Vaccine Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Ruth R. Faden is the executive director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

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At this point, it is impossible to predict whether we are on the brink of an influenza pandemic.  The threat is real, however, and governments across the globe are working hard to mitigate the potential impact of swine flu.  

This is right and proper.  Our government has an obligation to protect the public’s health, which it exercised responsibly by declaring a national public health emergency on Sunday.  This declaration is the public face of countless actions that federal, state, and local health authorities are now undertaking on our behalf.  But these are not the only actions that will be needed. There are also actions that we as citizens must undertake to minimize the swine flu threat that will help us protect ourselves and our families.  These actions are not only prudent; they are a matter of moral and civic responsibility.  Just as our government has an obligation to protect the public’s health, we too have an obligation to our country and to our fellow human beings to do our share to minimize the burdens of this influenza outbreak. 

What can each of us do?

Stay informed: New information about swine flu will be generated rapidly in the near term, and possibly longer. DHS Secretary Napolitano has committed to providing daily briefings for the foreseeable future. It is important that we commit to accessing that information, as well as information that may pertain to our local settings, so that we understand what is happening and can take action as needed.

Abide by public health recommendations: As public health officials learn more about the extent and spread of swine flu, new recommendations may be made to limit public gatherings, close schools or workplaces, or restrict or modify travel. These “social distancing” measures should reduce the public health burden of influenza by slowing down the pace by which flu will spread, but they will only work if each of us does our part. 

Follow basic hygiene practices: Good hand hygiene is always important, but particularly so in this context. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or with an alcohol-based cleanser. Use a tissue to cover your nose or mouth if you cough or sneeze, and dispose of the tissue properly or, if you don’t have a tissue, sneeze into your upper sleeve. Avoid touching your nose or mouth frequently.

Be vigilant and responsible if you or a loved one becomes ill: Contact a healthcare provider if you or a member of your household develops a fever and follow his or her instructions. Keep the person who is ill out of work or school. Unless someone is seriously ill, avoid using emergency rooms to evaluate possible flu symptoms. Even as we monitor this latest threat to public health, people will continue to have medical emergencies like heart attacks and car accidents, and it is important that emergency rooms be able to take care of those who need immediate medical attention. 

Prepare for the possibility of staying in your home: One possible social distancing measure that public health authorities could ask us to undertake is to stay at home for a period of time. A basic principle of emergency preparedness is that each of us should have sufficient food and water in our homes to last our families in such an eventuality. Now is the time to make sure that your family is well provisioned, not only to protect yourselves but also out of recognition that some families do not have the money or stable housing required to stockpile food. If those of us who have the means take care of our own needs, it will be easier for the government and community organizations to take care of those who do not.

Check on your neighbors: If you haven’t done so already, now is a good time to get to know your neighbors. Find out if any of them may need a little extra help dealing with this public health threat. People who live alone, for example, may appreciate your checking in with them from time to time, and elderly neighbors may need your help stocking up on food. Parents of school age children may want to talk through how they can help each other if schools in your area close but some workplaces stay open. 

In his inaugural address, President Obama declared: "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world." Our individual and collective response to this swine flu outbreak will be one important measure of whether we as Americans and as citizens of the global community are living up to what the President has asked of us.

Comments

[MFB]

I don't want to sound unduly harsh, but the last half-dozen epidemics have been exaggerated out of all proportion for political or economic (mainly quack remedy-selling) reasons. We should not be so quick to fall for such things, despite the number who have allegedly died. There is as yet no evidence that this is a new Spanish flu. It just happens to be at the United States's door.

[yoyo]

Thats a good point. We'll have lots of time to think about preparation and prevention when we're all dead. Obama and the Mexican government just needed to create a crisis because they had nothing else going on. I wish someone would take on the Vitamin C lobby, its all i hear about this week.

[gwangung]

Sorry, I don't think these are useful reactions.

Proper reactions are caution and wariness, not panic or dismissal. Given the rocky nature of US health care (particularly among the poor and underinsured) and the hits to it made by anti-vaccers, there's a fair amount of potential for a disaster to occur, particularly if there's complacency.

[hilzoy]

MFB: Look at the actual recommendations. They are all good ones, they are not hysterical or odd, and they are all things you can do without much trouble.

[gwangung]

Oh, I should mention, the wonder of the Internet is that you can keep tabs on developments yourself (and given its nature, events change rapidly). I'd suggest Effects Measure or Aetiology to help you keep an eye out.

[Nell]

Wrt 'Preparing for the possibility of staying in your home', the Making Light blog has several times run its helpful checklist for flu prep.

The checklist is useful for a number of possible emergencies, and pieces of it can be implemented in stages. So worth a look even if -- especially if -- the risk is not high or imminent.

[russell]

"Obama and the Mexican government just needed to create a crisis because they had nothing else going on."

Huh!?!

Bolds mine, should they survive typepad.

I'm with hilzoy et al, there's nothing in the advice given here that is alarmist or extreme. The only thing remotely out of the ordinary is the recommendation to prepare for being asked to stay home.

I'd call this a sane, measured heads up. Thanks for it, hilzoy.

[Nell]

The flu kit link is a stored one, but just now checking, I see that there's a fairly comprehensive front-page post at Making Light on the subject.

[Nathan Williams]

I have to admit I find the idea of having enough food and, especially, water in the house for a month to be kind of daunting. Sure, there's maybe 30 gallons in the hot water tank, but getting another 30-60 gallons is hard. 55-gallon drums don't grow on trees.

[Jay Tinkerton]

I think it is stunning the amount of drivel that people will read on Twitter and the like. I'm keeping up with legitimate news sources here: www.virusrecovery.net

-jay

[yoyo]

Do you need that much water? I live near a river, which i wouldn't want to drink out of, but i have a gallon of bleach which i think would be enough to get by for a while (disinfecting the water, i mean. not going out punk rock.) I don't have it, but a month's worth of peanut butter wouldn't be too expensive.

[rea]

I don't want to sound unduly harsh, but the last half-dozen epidemics have been exaggerated out of all proportion for political or economic (mainly quack remedy-selling) reasons. We should not be so quick to fall for such things

Quite right. We're always hearing these warnings of incipient disaster unless we take precautions, we dutifully take precautions, and no disaster happens. Funny how that works . . .

[bedtimeforbonzo]

"Thats a good point. We'll have lots of time to think about preparation and prevention when we're all dead."

Don't know why, yoyo, but that made me bust a gut.

[Nell]

@Nathan Williams:

The extra water can be stored five (or two) gallons at a time; it needn't be in one large container.

[prozac]

Good Post. In this times, we must be vigilant enough to know whats going on about the fast rising rate of swine flu. But no worries, these disease can be cured, with the proper procedures.