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You may be concerned about
recent news reports of swine
flu (swine influenza A [H1N1]).
Check recent reports from
the World
Health Organization (WHO)
and the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Many people will get sick and
not feel good. Most people
will probably recover on their own
without any long-term damage.
Those whose health is already compromised,
those who are weak or already battling
another illness, may have a more complicated,
serious struggle with the disease.
There will be some deaths, as there
are every year from flu.
Should you travel to Turkey now?
I can't tell you what to do—you
must make a decision you can be comfortable
with—but I can tell you what
I'm doing:
I'm taking two trips to Turkey
in 2009. I'm having a great
time. When I arrived at the airport
in Istanbul, a medical team met the
plane and collected questionnaires
we passengers had filled out during
the flight regarding our health,
and our contact information in Turkey.
They were ready to examine anyone
who felt ill. So far as I know, no
one on our flight felt ill, so we
proceeded as usual to passport control
and baggage claim.
As mentioned above, this flu
pandemic has the potential to spread to many
countries. No country may escape its
spread. I may catch it. I may catch
it at home, I may catch it in Paris (where I'm also going), I may catch
it in Turkey. I may want to stay in
bed for a few days. I won't be happy.
But I don't expect disaster.
Instead of dwelling on the fear of
catching the flu, I intend to dwell
on avoiding it. (I've
done pretty well so far, not having
caught flu for years because I follow
the normal precautions.)
Here's what
the CDC recommends:
—Cover your nose and
mouth with
a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Throw the tissue in the trash after
you use it. If you have no tissue,
sneeze into your sleeve or the crook
of your arm (elbow), not into
your hands. (When you sneeze into
your hands you transfer germs to
them, and by touching other surfaces
or people, you many transfer the
germs to them.)
—Wash
your hands often with soap
and water, especially after you cough
or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners
are also effective. Focus
on your hands! They are
the prime means by
which you may contract or spread flu. Keeping
your hands germ-free is the
best thing you can do to avoid getting
sick.
—Avoid touching your
eyes, nose or mouth. Germs
spread that way. Focus
on your hands!
—Try
to avoid close contact with sick people.
Influenza is thought to spread mainly
person-to-person through coughing or
sneezing of infected people, who may
transfer germs to their hands, then
to you.
—If you
get sick, try to avoid infecting others.
Stay away from work or school and limit
contact with others to keep from infecting
them. Isolate yourself as much as possible
until you have been fever-free for
a minimum of 24 hours.
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