Symptoms Of Swine Flu

What you need to know about swine flu

Reported:

"Individuals have a key role to play," Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday.

Here's what you need to know:

Q: How do I protect myself and my family?

A: For now, take commonsense precautions. Cover your coughs and sneezes, with a tissue that you throw away or by sneezing into your elbow rather than your hand. Wash hands frequently; if soap and water aren't available, hand gels can substitute. Stay home if you're sick and keep children home from school if they are.

Q: How easy is it to catch this virus?

A: Scientists don't yet know if it takes fairly close or prolonged contact with someone who's sick, or if it's more easily spread. But in general, flu viruses spread through uncovered coughs and sneezes or — and this is important — by touching your mouth or nose with unwashed hands. Flu viruses can live on surfaces for several hours, like a doorknob just touched by someone who sneezed into his hand.

Q: In Mexico, officials are handing out face masks. Do I need one?

A: The CDC says there's not good evidence that masks really help outside of health care settings. It's safer just to avoid close contact with someone who's sick and avoid crowded gatherings in places where swine flu is known to be spreading. But if you can't do that, CDC guidelines say it's OK to consider a mask — just don't let it substitute for good precautions.

Q: Is swine flu treatable?

A: Yes, with the flu drugs Tamiflu or Relenza, but not with two older flu medications.

Q: Is there enough?

A: Yes. The federal government has stockpiled enough of the drugs to treat 50 million people, and many states have additional stocks. As a precaution, the CDC has shipped a quarter of that supply to the states to keep on hand just in case the virus starts spreading more than it has so far.

Q: Should I take Tamiflu as a precaution if I'm not sick yet?

A: No. "What are you going to do with it, use it when you get a sniffle?" asks Dr. Marc Siegel of New York University Langone Medical Center and author of "Bird Flu: Everything you Need To Know About The Next Pandemic." Overusing antiviral drugs can help germs become resistant to them.

Q: How big is my risk?

A: For most people, very low. Outside of Mexico, so far clusters of illnesses seem related to Mexican travel. New York City's cluster, for instance, consists of students and family members at one school where some students came back ill from spring break in Mexico.

Q: Why are people dying in Mexico and not here?

A: That's a mystery. First, understand that no one really knows just how many people in Mexico are dying of this flu strain, or how many have it. Only a fraction of the suspected deaths have been tested and confirmed as swine flu, and some initially suspected cases were caused by something else.

Q: Should I cancel my planned trip to Mexico?

A: The U.S. did issue a travel advisory Monday discouraging nonessential travel there.

Q: What else is the U.S., or anyone else, doing to try to stop this virus?

A: The U.S. is beginning limited screening of travelers from Mexico, so that the obviously sick can be sent for treatment. Other governments have issued their own travel warnings and restrictions. Mexico is taking the biggest steps, closings that limit most crowded gatherings. In the U.S., communities with clusters of illness also may limit contact — New York closed the affected school for a few days, for example — so stay tuned to hear if your area eventually is affected.

Q: What are the symptoms?

A: They're similar to regular human flu — a fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also have diarrhea and vomiting.

Q: How do I know if I should see a doctor? Maybe my symptoms are from something else — like pollen?

A: Health authorities say if you live in places where swine flu cases have been confirmed, or you recently traveled to Mexico, and you have flulike symptoms, ask your doctor if you need treatment or to be tested. Allergies won't cause a fever. And run-of-the-mill stomach bugs won't be accompanied by respiratory symptoms, notes Dr. Wayne Reynolds of Newport News, Va., spokesman for the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Q: Is there a vaccine to prevent this new infection?

A: No. And CDC's initial testing suggests that last winter's flu shot didn't offer any cross-protection.

Q: How long would it take to produce a vaccine?

A: A few months. The CDC has created what's called "seed stock" of the new virus that manufacturers would need to start production. But the government hasn't yet decided if the outbreak is bad enough to order that.

Q: What is swine flu?

A: Pigs spread their own strains of influenza and every so often people catch one, usually after contact with the animals. This new strain is a mix of pig viruses with some human and bird viruses. Unlike more typical swine flu, it is spreading person-to-person. A 1976 outbreak of another unusual swine flu at Fort Dix, N.J., prompted a problematic mass vaccination campaign, but that time the flu fizzled out.

Q: So is it safe to eat pork?

A: Yes. Swine influenza viruses don't spread through food.

Q: And whatever happened to bird flu? Wasn't that supposed to be the next pandemic?

A: Specialists have long warned that the issue is a never-before-seen strain that people have little if any natural immunity to, regardless of whether it seems to originate from a bird or a pig. Bird flu hasn't gone away; scientists are tracking it, too.

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EDITOR's NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

At the Mercy of Civil Servants
By Yin Ee Kiong

I refer to the article “At the Mercy of Civil Servants” NST dated 26th April.

Much of what has been said is true. There are countless examples of civil servants ‘misbehaving’. They have become a law unto themselves. Their political masters may state a policy stand in parliament but that counts for naught unless the officer on the other side of the counter carries it out. Ultimately it depends on the directors of ministries or heads of each department because officers down the line cannot act contrary to what has been directed by their bosses. Having said that there are too many cases where low ranking officers have been overbearing, officious and intimidating to the public who they treat as supplicants coming to ask a favour. Civil servants must be reminded that they are ‘public servants’ – they are paid by us and because of us they are in a job.

While I sympathise with politicians who complain that they get the rap whenever civil servants do not do their work; they (the politicians) are largely to blame.
The ruling party has for a long time been courting the civil servants. As they constitute a large voting block politicians have pandered to them, often offering them pay rises and bonuses just before the general elections. I never could understand why government servants should get bonuses. How does one gauge their productivity? And if they do not perform will they be subjected to the same treatment as employees in the private sector – ie face the sack?
Politicians have also been handling them with kid glove. The standing joke in Malaysia is that officers who have messed up are often promoted upwards or sideways.
I remember two Mayors of Ipoh who did not do a good job and in order to take them out of the public glare they were promoted to be the head of a ministry. And lately we have the example of teacher who was at the center of a racial controversy. She was transferred to a better school.

Unless politicians are prepared to take a tough line with civil servants and to stop politicising the service they should not complain.
Kayveas’ suggestion to make politicians heads of departments is at best a hare-brain idea and at worst it is like pouring petrol to douse the fire. These politicians will invariably put a party slant to dealings with the public. Imagine someone coming up to collect their welfare payment and they are reminded that it is the BN government that is giving them the money. Already they are doing that with government projects where the BN logo is displayed. Or projects in BN controlled areas are given priority over Opposition areas.

The only way to deal with the civil service mafia is to put them on term contracts - if not the entire staff then the heads. We can also improve the civil service by ending the near racial monopoly of the service and make promotions based on merit and not race.
In Australia many of the heads of departments are put on term contracts which will be renewed (or not) according to their performance. The days of job for life is no more – not even in Japan.

Insurmountable difficulties to build the crooked bridge

Commentary by Koon Yew Yin , 24^th April 09

As an old engineer, let me touch on some of the insurmountable difficulties involved in building the bridge that should be part of the appraisal process when considering the crooked bridge construction.

1. One of the objectives for breaking up the existing causeway is to allow ships to bypass Singapore port which will automatically affect Singapore’s economy. That is why Singapore is not giving us the permission to break their portion of the causeway. As a result, Dr. Mahathir’s lobbyists have proposed building the crooked bridge.
2. The bridge must be high enough to allow ships to go under the bridge. For such a short span, the gradient will be too steep for any train to climb. Moreover, trains cannot negotiate sharp bends.
3. I remember reading that this matter was discussed in the Singapore Parliament. It was pointed out that if Malaysia did not maintain the railway for longer than 6 months, Singapore could claim the right of all the railway land in Singapore territory.
4. I also remember that when we tried to stop Singapore’s reclamation work, the matter was referred to the international court for the sea. The court decided that both countries have to agree for any development project within a certain distance from the boundary. I doubt if we can break up half of the existing causeway on our side without Singapore’s agreement.

Tun Dr. Mahathir once again is pushing hard for the crooked bridge

Ever since Tun Dr. Mahathir rejoined UMNO, he has been interfering in the new government under Prime Minister Najib Razak. Once again in the media and now, in his own blog site’Chedet’, he is pushing hard for building the crooked bridge. This time though, Dr. Mahathir is playing his last trump card by appealing to our Malaysian sense of patriotism and nationalism and by trying to whip up anti-Singaporean sentiments.

In Dr Mahathir’s blog, Chedet posting on 20^th April 09, on the “Crooked Bridge” the first sentence is “The Star reported that the Chinese businessmen in Johore Baru want the Crooked Bridge to be built” and his last sentence asks: “Does the Government need to ask Singapore for permission to build the now desirable crooked bridge? Is Malaysia free to do things in its own territory? Are we really independent? I wonder.”

The public should note that the latest Mahathir blast on the bridge contains no clear or strong justification for building the crooked bridge – no economic reason, no technical reason and most important of all, no balanced analysis of the pros and cons of building the bridge. The blog note may in fact be construed as just a naked appeal to primordial sentiment. Hopefully, the new PM will not allow himself to be bullied by Dr. Mahathir but will stand his ground on this issue.

How to stop Dr. Mahathir’s pestering to build the crooked bridge

However, should the pressure from the Mahathir camp continue to grow and become difficult to ignore, one way of defusing it is to have full public disclosure of the crooked bridge project, its history, the major and minor players who have been involved in it, the findings of various feasibility studies dealing with it, various cost-benefit scenarios and not least of all, the financial ramifications of the project, including the payment of more than 100 million ringgit to the contractor for the decision to stop the proposal – a payment made despite the fact that the contractor did not do any physical construction work on site.

Let the public be provided with all the facts of the project (much of which has not been available because of the operation of the Official Secrets Act) and let the public (especially competent professionals) help in the decision after a full and fair appraisal. If the crooked bridge is to be built, it must only be done because it is doable and in the best interests of the country and not just because the former Prime Minister wants it.

Open competitive tender

As a final point, it is clear that in view of the global recession’s serious impact on the Malaysian economy, the Government must be more careful in spending the hard earned money of our Malaysian tax payers. This is not the time to pour money into resurrected white elephant or ego-building projects. All major projects need to be implemented only after careful and rigorous cost –benefit evaluation studies that should be open to public scrutiny. The practice of awarding large contracts without open competitive tenders such as was done in the case of the initial contract for the crooked bridge must not be continued.

If an open and competitive tender system is the norm in the country’s procurement, I am sure that Dr. Mahathir’s cronies will stop pestering to build the crooked bridge because they may not secure the contract if they have to compete with other contractors.

Lesson from Penang New Bridge

The original proposal cost was about Rm 2 billion and now is more than Rm 5 billion. When it is near completion, the contractor will claim for additional cost of another few hundred million ringgit. You can see there is ample amount for the people who approve the project. I can imagine how the users will cry when they have to pay the high toll rate. Because of this, the authorities cannot stop toll collection for the old Penang Bridge although the collection has been going on for years. We must not forget this lesson.

The recent by-elections
By : Noel D' Oliveiro

The results of the recent by-elections and two others in the not so distant past has, to state it in simple computer language, pointed to the obvious that the system of governance has crashed. Analyzing the causes through time consuming post-mortems is an exercise in futility.

The main cause is that there is corruption in the operating system. So, what can be done when such a thing happens? It is time to reboot, failing which, reformatting and reinstalling the whole works would do the trick. Changing the motherboard shouldn’t be counted out.

Also, we have been too deeply mired in the minutia of partisan politics. We have suffered from a national myopia with all of our attention being focused on non-issue ‘issues’, while our basic rights and freedoms and the very underpinnings of our society are continually eroded. There are many groups out there deliberately muddying the waters to achieve their own ends.

We were founded on the radical concept that we all have certain inalienable rights – rights which cannot be taken away by even a democratically held referendum. Our Constitution affirms many of those rights by name, rights which are basic and fundamental and not subject to government regulation. Unfortunately we have allowed many of these rights to be eroded; freedom of speech is one of those endangered rights.

We need to get back to the business of looking after the rights and freedoms of our people. We don’t need to focus on ‘hate speech’ and ‘political correctness’; we need to have an open and honest dialogue. We need to let people offend others and be offended. That’s the only way real lasting progress will be made. Right now our ‘leaders’ are trying to put new coats of paint on a rusting hulk and call the problems ‘solved’. Our nation deserves better.