Swine Flu

"it's actually better to get it now than to to get ti when it is a deadly disease".

Its not something like the chicken pox wherein if u get it once the chances of it infecting you is rare.....this is like the common flu you will keep getting it as long as the virus is active.One can only hope that it does not mutate.

My concern is not for the swine flu, swine flu has and can be treated as any common flu along with tamiflu. My concern arises from the vaccine that one will feel compelled to take to avoid gettin this variant of the flu.Thousands world wide have been succesfully treated and that is why its not necessary to take any vaccine unless one has a medical history that deems them vulnerable to swine flu. Side effects of any drug are clinically proven after years of testing but not in the case of this vaccine.

Though many of us are well informed on the flu there are also many who are searching for information so heres hoping this thread can help ease peoples concerns.

hmm u can travel..there is no harm in travelling..but u should be careful when u meet people there..

recently some of my colleagues went to USA n come back well..

hi keiko....hahaha...the stats on this one too seems to be outdated....was an article a few days back in one of the english news dailies that stated that cases were over 300 confirmed cases.....one would think that one can trust the local dailies for information....

Interestingly the stats for my country India and also the U.S seem to accurately match those on the wiki link but there is a big difference in those of qatar with regards to the WHO EMRO link....and by the way i have been monitoring the count from mid july and the stats have been the same.

Thanks MadHatFx, I removed the link because you may have reached an older cached version of the map. EMRO is comprised of the Ministries of Health from Qatar, Dubai, Saudi, etc and they all report their numbers to the local WHO office on a regular basis. Please remember that their is a lag time and the report may be published weekly. They have also published their plan for the pandemic and you may understand and feel confident about the measures the authorities are taking after you read their full report. People have many questions regarding the vaccine, like whether it will be given in two injections spaced a few weeks apart and whether it is safe for a pregnant or nursing mother. The truth is that these vaccines were rushed through clinical trials out of necessity and there are known side effects and contraindications with any drug. As a patient and ultimate decision maker for your family, you will need to weigh the benefits versus the risk to your family and make an informed choice. Healthcare workers are being given the vaccine in many countries as this is written. I agree with Veena. One should be brave. One should also be well informed.

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By the way, as of today, their were only 23 confirmed cases in Qatar and one death. The highest numbers are in Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. WHO EMRO LINK http://www.emro.who.int/csr/h1n1/

I removed the link because a reader commented the site was not up to date. You may GOOGLE the phrase below by placing quotation marks to either side of the word string like this "Interactive Swine Flu H1N1 Map". Thanks for the information.

it's actually better to get it now than to to get ti when it is a deadly disease

wear a mask for heaven's sake if it worries u that much

dont be scared.be brave and continue ur journey.rumours about swineflu r spreading much more faster than swineflu itelf.

but don't go to cheap and shit countries like Muscat, that place doesn't have any facility.

its hardly reassuring for parents with small children and old people....and do u know the amount of cases of respiratory problems and diabetes in this region its pretty high....so we have a group of people who are really high risk, any measures taken to protect them should be done right.

p.s. pls do not accept any vaccines for the flu unless u r sure about the vaccine and its effects....long or short time

Its not that bad really. My cousin got it and he recovered fine, hes in his mid 20s. My friend's parents got it - they're diabetic and above 50 recovered. Just be careful with small children and really old people and people with existing medical conditions like respiratory problems etc. Google Swine flu u'll get a lot of info.

"Ali Baba and 40 thieves" are now "Ali Baba and 30 thieves" ; 10 were laid off.

hi keiko the link u provided is unfortunately outdated qatar is stated to have 23 cases in there.....where in the actual cases on WHO website is 350 and that was last month so guess it must be 550 by now....here's another link which is updated daily by the rest pf the world but not by qatar....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=August2009&file=Local_News200908272143.xml

Saudis urge people with chronic diseases to put off Umrah (8/27/2009)

Riyadh: The Saudi Ministry of Health issued a bulletin warning for at risk populations (see the full article in the Penninsula)

This report originates outside of Qatar but has implications for high-risk people and young people in Qatar and the Gulf Region.

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The factual information is especially important to Qatar because persons who have diabetes, cardiovascular or respiratory impairment, may be at especially high risk if contracting H1N1. The report states that confirmed cases of H1N1 are concentrated in younger age groups, up to age 24. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC),the infection risk in the 0 to 24 age group is 4 to 5 times greater than for those in the 25 to 49 age group, and 20 times greater than those over age 65. As a result, 2009-H1N1 would lead to many more years of life lost.

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H1N1 flu poses especially high-risk for young people with certain pre-existing conditions, including pregnant women and patients with diabetes, severe obesity, respiratory impairment, or neurological disorders.

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The report on H1N1 flu released Monday by the White House in Washington, DC. is written by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. (PCAST) The panel projects that the H1N1 flu could strain the U.S. health-care system and officials face serious time constraints implementing a vaccination program.

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The full report below provides much more information than the news media is able to highlight in a short article and addresses some of the problems with previous vaccination programs in the 1950's and 1970's.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/PCAST_H1N1_Report.pdf

Donosa,

Hope you were able to snorkel and swim with the fishes. They are so beautiful. Mexico is a wonderful country and Cancun is offering reasonable accomodations. But the country is not known for cleanliness or food and water sanitation.

Updated Information

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The current H1N1 situation regional update report number 6: dated 16 August 2009. 0900 hrs Cairo Time. (English language) Download and read here:

www.emro.who.int/csr/h1n1

Dr. Gezairy’s interview on influenza A(H1N1) published in Al-Hayat Newspaper, 24 may 2009, Issue No. 16851 (Arabic Language) Download and read here:

http://www.emro.who.int/csr/h1n1/media.htm#press

For additional warnings about how you can protect your family: (English language) Download and read here:

http://www.emro.who.int/csr/h1n1/healthmessages.htm

I just came back from Cancun and I have a flu hehehe

just a regular one tho.... ;)

Enjoy Singapore. It is a wonderful city. See above for Health Tips from the WHO and the H1N1 Travel link. Both web sites provide helpful advice.

I have my travel plans to singapore in august..... i am conterplating on it due to these swine flu scare... any advice to the south east asia travels.

Helpful Link for Travellers

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Novel H1N1 Flu and Travel

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/novel-h1n1-flu.aspx

27 July 2009 The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean http://www.emro.who.int/index.asp held a special session of the Regional Committee with the attendance of Their Excellencies the Ministers of Health and heads of delegations from the 22 countries of the Region to discuss the necessary arrangements to be taken during the season of Umra and Hajj this year and the necessary procedures to be adopted. The special session was held last Wednesday, 22 July 2009, in the Kuwait Conference Hall of the Regional Office and was followed by a press conference that was attended by a large number of news media. Members of the Regional Committee agreed upon the following resolution regarding the above. The countries of EMRO have adopted the following resolution: see PDF dated 26-7-2009 http://www.emro.who.int/CSR/h1n1/pdf/RC_Resolution26-7-09.pdf

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The WHO GAR report was suspended on July 16, the regional update for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), under the directorship of Director: Dr Hussein Abdel-Razzak Al Gezairy is published both in Arabic and English and the updated statistics by EMRO country (includes Qatar). Published here: http://www.emro.who.int/csr/h1n1/

The chances of you catching H1N1 is remote and should not interfere with your plans.

Look at the USA. On July 24 the Centre for Disease Control reported that they have had 43,771 cases of H1N1 across all states and territories. Seems alot? Think again. When you consider there are 304,059,724 people in the USA alone, this means only 0.014% of the population have caught it. I would not let odds like this put off my holiday plans.

For most people it is just the same as a bad dose of the flu.

Source http://www.cdc.gov/H1n1flu/update.htm

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32173230/ns/health-swine_flu/

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com

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/id/32173230/ns/health-swine_flu/

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Not to frighten anyone, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, dated 28 July 2009 Swine Flu Has Spread to Remote Regions. Some very popular vacation spots in Europe and Asia (as well as remote areas) are mentioned in the article.

The World Health Organization has published some helpful tips. Using a mask can enable an individual with influenza-like symptoms to cover their mouth and nose to help contain respiratory droplets, a measure that is part of cough etiquette. Some other tips are posted here:

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http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/what/en/index.html

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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers other guidelines for pregnant women, caregivers, and good general etiquette guidelines to help prevent transmission of any flu or virus:

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http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

The World Health Organization has published some helpful tips. Using a mask can enable an individual with influenza-like symptoms to cover their mouth and nose to help contain respiratory droplets, a measure that is part of cough etiquette. Some other tips are posted here:

...

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/what/en/index.html

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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers other guidelines for pregnant women, caregivers, and good general etiquette guidelines to help prevent transmission of any flu or virus:

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http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

thanks guys, i'll keep that in mind

i left Doha abt 4 weeks ago and took precautions mentioned above by others. i took along with me a pack of wipes - which i find useful. have a safe trip!

No need to panic or postpone anything, all you need is a precationary measure

To avoid swine flu, take:

1/2 tbspn. sarsa ni mang tomas - 2X daily

i say, just carry on. we don't have to change our plans just because of it.. if you're bound to get it, you will no matter where you are.. im flying home tomorrow and i have no plans of postponing it.. Bring it on!

but of course, that is my personal opinion only..

i think better to go and see a psychologist... if everyone was stop doing things because of having fears, the world would have stopped developing before it started...

you are not driving because you are afraid of accidents? you are not flying because you are afraid of airplane crashes? are you afraid of choking down, getting drown? You have much less chances to get a swine flu then to get into one of above situations...

you might have some worries, but it doesn't mean you don't fly!

Scarlett, how did you like (dislike) Russia? ;)

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"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small compared to what lies within us."

Oliver Wendell Holmes

It should be fine.

Here in Birmingham it is pretty bad but the thing is the medical people seem to be diagnosing it very haphazardly with no real medical tests.

My wife's nephew, aged 7, had it last week and now my mother-in-law, in her 60's with medical issues, has been diagnosed with it and they recovered/are recovering fine.

Even in if you were to catch it it is not so bad in 99.9% cases...

They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to see it... --George Carlin

Well all I have to say is my dad has you guys to thank for me not cancelling my trip lol. and besides, who's to say i cant get it here in Doha? This thing is everywhere really.. n thanks scarlett, I will indeed remember the basics, like eating right and sleeping well.. hope that will be enough!

just got back from Russia AND the UK...go ahead and go..just take the usual precautions that you would nornally take..wash your hands before eating, avoid those people who are coughing and sneezing a lot, get lots of rest...and eat a healthy balanced diet.

If it will make you feel better, go to one of the pharmacies and ask if they have something that will boost your immune system before you go...I know there is one that you inhale...

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the main difference between a dog and man.

-Mark Twain-

I feel alot better now thanks guys:) yeah your right. But I'm not going to the states this time, I'm going to Europe and I heard that in the UK is supposidly really bad? Yet again like I said, can't trust the media!

Plus, how do you know if next year you will be able to go on Holidays?? LIVE TODAY!

I'm in Mexico right now..... let me tell you... no swine flu anywhere to be seen...

you should be fine.. PLUS, in the weird event that you might get it, it is not deadly... Learn about the symptoms and if you ever get them, go straight to the Doctor.

Enjoy your holidays!

I don't think there is any reason to fear or panic. There is one in a million chance of you getting directly affected. Lets say that all of us have a better chance of dying of heart attack than we have of dying of or even contracting swine flu :)

Life is Beautiful...Indeed!

i think you should fly & have fun in USA

no more fears of SF as they have medicen for it now.

so FLY & ENJOY...