Despite the first official death [1] of a U.S. resident from the H1N1 influenza--aka, swine flu--the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that school systems and childcare facilities stay open; instead, in the no-brainer of all no-brainers, the organization recommends that anyone with flu-like symptoms--students, faculty or staff--remain at home to rest.
This seems to truly drive the point home that all of the hype over the swine flu [2] has been just that--hype. While the CDC has reported 403 cases of the disease in 38 states overall--and a "big bump" in the number of cases is expected after more lab tests are performed and the Southern Hemisphere enters its flu season.
Still, I guess more hype is better than no hype at all, considering the outbreaks of SARS and avian flu in previous years [3]. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is happy with the CDC's work thus far, although she said that not enough is known about the virus.
For more information:
- read this Modern Healthcare article [4]
- check out this article [1]
Related Articles:
Swine flu clamor a distraction from real issues [2]
CDC: Swine flu not as virulent as feared [5]
Swine flu fears jamming emergency departments [6]
Links:
[1] http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20090505/REG/305059943
[2] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/swine-flu-clamor-distraction-real-issues/2009-05-01
[3] http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/government-has-playbook-swine-flu/2009-05-05
[4] http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20090505/REG/305059973
[5] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cdc-swine-flu-not-virulent-feared/2009-05-04
[6] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/swine-flu-fears-jamming-emergency-departments/2009-05-04