Flu fashion

TRUST the Japanese to come up with some stylish, fashionable surgical masks to protect you from the flu viruses. I want to get my hands on one of these.

So far my favorites are the geisha mask,

(Photo from the Hara Museum Online Shop.)

...and the Rising Sun mask of Yoriko Yoshida, a well-known Japanese illustrator.

(Photo from Pink Tentacle.)
Coolness.

DOH mum on flu patient's activities

(Health Secretary Francisco Duque announces first case of Influenza A/H1N1 infection in the Philippines. Photo from AFP.)

THE Department of Health has been doing what it terms "contract tracing" on the case of the 10-year-old girl found to be infected with Influenza A/H1N1 virus. But is keeping a lid on where she went since she arrived in the country on May 18. If she went to the mall, she would have already passed on the virus to other mallgoers.

The DOH officials also didn't want to identify what airport the child's plane landed in bec. it would identify where she is located. However, they did say that the passenger manifest of the plane which the child rode on is currently being reviewed so that the other passengers would be contacted for observation purposes.

The child's family, of course, has requested for privacy. I hope the family was forthcoming enough to inform their friends and relatives abroad who their child came in contact with, of the current situation so they too can be vigilant and observe their own households for possible infection.

For more notes on the presscon of DOH Secretary Duque last night, click reporter Dana Batnag's blog.

Don't panic!

DoH confirms first A(H1N1) case in RP

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 22:26:00 05/21/2009

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) The Department of Health (DoH) confirmed the first case of A(H1N1) influenza in the country Thursday night.

“The DoH confirms today the first case of A(H1N1) in the Philippines. She is a female traveler who arrived in the country on May 18 from the United States, whose throat specimen tested positive based on results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a press conference at the World Health Organization Regional office in Manila. (Click here for the rest.)

AS a journalist, that's what I want to tell you. But personally, I'm really scared that the Influenza A virus has finally landed in Manila and has infected a young child who just arrived from the States and Canada. This is not good. Let's just pray that it won't spread nationwide.

As Sec. Duque says, this calls for vigilance and honesty. Pls. start thinking of the welfare of your fellow citizens. If you came from countries where Influenza A was prevalent, or have been in contact w/ people who came from those places, and you suddenly feel flu-ish, pls. pls. pls. have yourself checked immediately. In this situation, it's better to be a hypochondriac and err on the side of safety, to make sure you don't infect others.

In the meantime, bring out those masks and hand sanitizers. Try as much as possible to stay away from crowded places. A virus w/ such a virulent strain can easily spread. So pls. be careful.

Here is a poster guide from the World Health Organization on how to wash our hands. The length of time one washes hands should be the time it takes to sing two "Happy Birthday" songs. This is no joke. Spread the word: Clean hands can save your life.


(Click to enlarge.)

Conspiracy theory on the swine flu

MIGGY and I were recently discussing about the swine flu and I, in my usual conspiracy theory mode, ventured that for all we know, Influenza A (formerly known as swine flu) caused by the H1N1 virus, is a result of experiments by the U.S. government. After all, nuclear weapons and missiles will no longer be the weapons of choice when a country goes to war; it will most probably engage in biological warfare. The U.S. government cannot afford not to have such a capability, otherwise it will be at the mercy of warmongering countries who already have biological weapons of mass destruction.

As it turns out, the CDC had in fact, planned to do experiments on avian flu and mix it with the virus that causes human influenza back in 2004. Even the World Health Organization had begged CDC to do these experiments to prepare the world against a possible flu pandemic. So Influenza A maybe was not made by mad genius evil scientists in the U.S. for use by the U.S. military when it goes to war, but it still could be the result of actual experiments. Read this and this.