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Return of the Swine
…flu, that is.
The WHO has declared a pandemic. Most of the increasing numbers of sufferers are to be found in the UK, Australia, Japan and Chile. (See the BBC story, which has a video of WHO’s Dr. Chan making the declaration.)
It is the first time in 40 years that a flu pandemic has been declared. Unlike the one in 1968, however, which killed over a million people, this outbreak seems to result mostly in mild illness. A pandemic is a description of the widespread nature of an illness and not an indication, necessarily, of the severity of its impact on victims.
The verdict is still out on the long-term impact of this, which we will only fully realize at the end of the summer.
Some of the science behind H1N1 discussed at a recent conference in B.C. can be found here.
Gruntled Employees suggesting that eliminating sick days and trusting staff would reduce the spread. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered the idea of “presenteeism”, but in these days, I think it bears consideration.
http://tinyurl.com/m55wbn