Be cautious, and be healthy

So far, islanders and county agencies seem to be responding to the H1N1 flu virus with appropriate caution and planning.

Although hand sanitizer is flying off the shelves, no one appears to be walking our streets wearing face masks. Unlike the rest of the United States, where there are reports of people avoiding public places to avoid catching H1N1, we aren’t overreacting.

It is easy to be fearful about the possible pandemic because there are so many unknowns, but we all seem to understand that panic is not productive. Many of the major media outlets are employing scare tactics, despite most health officials agreeing that it is too early to get frightened.

As San Juan County health official Dr. Frank James explained it:

“Three or four times each century a new flu bug shows up in the human population and spreads quickly from person to person worldwide. Sometimes these are mild diseases but sometimes they are severe. Over time, people develop resistance to the severity of infection and these new bugs that spread worldwide become the new seasonal flu. The current ‘seasonal’ flu strains each started out as a ‘pandemic’ strain. The seasonal flu hospitalizes about 200,000 people in the U.S. and kills about 35,000 each winter.

“The flu that appears to have started in Mexico is one of the new strains that will travel around the globe and perhaps establish itself as one of the seasonal strains. But for this year it is the new kid on the block that humans have no immunity to, so it will spread quickly. We do not yet know for sure how severe it will be but early indications are that it is significantly less severe than the pandemic strains of 1918, 1957 and 1968.”

He also says that typically the second wave of the disease, which could happen this summer in the southern hemisphere and in the fall in the U.S., could be more severe or less, depending on the presence of other flu strains.

So let’s protect ourselves. Follow this advice from the Centers for Disease Control:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after using it.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• If you do get the flu (or any contagious illness, for that matter), stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

• Vaccine is available on the islands. Call your medical provider or San Juan County Health Department, 378-4474.

For the full report from Dr. Frank James, visit the opinion section of www.islandssounder.com.