So the kids are home for the next two weeks, due to swine flu. I can't decide if I think it is scaremongering or prudent. The WHO has been very clear that the declaration that swine flu is a pandemic does not mean the virus is in any way more deadly or more virulent. A BBC article mentions that swine flu seems to be crowding out seasonal flu cases. Which makes me wonder. Could swine flu have been around for a lot longer, years even? The only reason it seems to have hit the radar now is the cluster of fatal cases in Mexico and the panic that inspired. Every year people die from contracting the flu. Who's to say that this virus has not been around for years and caused other deaths? Deaths that were attributed to 'flu' but not investigated any further because it was assumed to be 'seasonal flu'. And why is 'seasonal flu' not considered a pandemic? It seems to tick the same boxes: human-to-human transmission, across several continents each year (I know this for a fact, because my mother and brother went home with flu last Christmas, contracted in England!), thousands affected. So I'm not sure I'm convinced about this new version of flu being the first pandemic in 41 years. Or that we should all be panicking and closing schools right and left.
What I am convinced of, is that the next two weeks are going to be a test of my ability to be creative in distracting and entertaining two young children!
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another lawyer in my office and her 2 children got swine flu. It was typical flu - absolutely miserable for 24 hours and then tired and it was over. So, basically, based upon my Houston experiences - you are right on point.
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