Swine Flu

Stupidity, it seems, knows no bounds as MacDoctor found out yesterday.

I seems to me that there is a distinct lack of co-ordination at all levels of the health service on this matter. I am particularly appalled that Health Line – whose number is given out routinely by the Herald for those seeking advice on swine flu – tell patients to leave the house, travel to a busy A&E, A&M or GP and cough their viruses all over the waiting room. That would have to rank as one of the most spectacularly bad pieces of advice I have ever heard.

I also note that, by 4 o’clock this afternoon, the public health department had not even rung my patient, let alone visited her. So when John Key says that “New Zealand’s response to the threat of swine flu has been swift, thorough and appropriate“, he clearly meant “slow, spotty and disorganised”.

I am sure my patient will be fine. Hopefully by now some nice person from the public health department will have given her some antivirals, although one Christchurch man had not been contacted by the health department, despite going to an A&M clinic today. At any rate, that noted medical expert, Bill Ralston has told us that this is not Ebola, which I am sure will be comforting to the relatives of the 100 mexicans who have died so far.

This thing is serious. I went to a first aid course some months back, and it was impressed on us just how many people could die if a new flu virus got out. Extreme measures were described, including lockign down the country into tightly controlled sectors.

Well, maybe not.

But hey, at least the leader of the free world hasn’t been exposed. Crap, he has.

Felipe Solis, the director of the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, greeted Barack Obama at the museum for dinner with dignitaries during Obama’s apology tour.
Solis died the next day from the swine flu.

I know it’s serious, but I can’t help thinking – what are the chances?

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