A(H1N1) – How much do you about it?

In recent months, our civilization has been threatened by a new epidemic – A(H1N1), or rather swine flue to make it simple.

At the very beginning, the Malaysian government seems pretty proud to announce that all H1N1 cases are purely imported every single day in the news. When flights are being discovered to have transported a certain infected individuals, the rest of the passengers are being requested to monitor or report themselves to the local hospitals. An honest question, how many of us will actually do that? Why didn’t the ministry of health track down all passengers based on the passenger list in possession of airlines, check and quarantine them? That may not be enough to prevent any outspread, however that is at least a more proactive approach.

Now, more and more people are being admitted for contracting the virus every single day. The number of contractions are getting more and more astounding, so are the number of deaths. Most of all, they are no longer imported cases. So is it time for panic? How much do we know about the new virus? Do we really know enough?

2 weeks ago panic broke out in my department because there were suspected cases. Pregnant ladies packed their bags and left immediately, everyone looked like Zorrows with their masks on, hand sanitizers became an instant hit. The nurse on duty informed the managers masks will not help, and should only be worn by people with coughs. However, the panel doctor said it will reduce the risk of catching the virus as much as 40%. So should we be wearing masks or not? Will that really help? The only thing I am sure of is that we should wash our hands often and try not to touch our eyes, nose or mouth.

I had a staff who was supposed to quarantine herself for 3 days to see if the symptoms persisted, and yet she drove to the local hospital to have herself tested for H1N1, exposing the public to health threat. What if she had indeed caught the virus? I wonder if it has ever occurred to her that her actions were selfish and totally unacceptable. She was given another 2 days off subsequently as she was still unwell, and she drove all the way to Teluk Intan to visit her newborn cousin sister!

So… do you think Malaysians really care about A(H1N1)?

Bah!!