The Swine Flu Thing

This past weekend was one of our most social in a long time: we went to the circus on Saturday and to a family activity at Eva's school on Sunday. Then whammo! on Monday school was cancelled. Since then the WHO pandemic status has gone up two levels, and according to the newspapers all non-essential workplaces are to close until May 6. In Andrew's workplace and around town many are wearing masks, and people aren't greeting each other with handshakes and air kisses as is customary.

So far there are no confirmed cases in the Torreon metropolitan area, however there are something like 50 suspected cases.

What has this meant to our family? The kids and I have stayed at home all week, with the exception of a morning walk. Andrew went to the grocery store on Monday night and stocked up the pantry and freezer in case things get really weird. We have talked about stocking up on cash too. We considered flying the kids and me home to Canada somewhat earlier than planned. I'm not a big fan of this plan. I don't like the idea of splitting up our family, and Andrew possibly getting stuck here if borders are closed. If it is indeed a global pandemic, would we really be any safer in Canada than here? And my parents wouldn't even be there because they are planning a getaway next month. What if I got sick? Or Andrew got sick? (With anything) Who would care for the sick parent and the kids?

I've had a chance to read and digest quite a bit of internet coverage on what's going on and here are some of my thoughts and conclusions:

- This flu doesn't seem to be any more deadly than any other flu strain. The "regular" flu kills between a quarter- and half-million people worldwide annually.

- My fears regarding this flu stem more from the fact that I am pregnant. My immune system is therefore depressed, making me more susceptible. A high fever could be dangerous for the baby. I want to avoid drugs for myself and the kids, especially the drugs they are using to treat this flu because they can have some funky side effects. Here are some of them according to the Tamiflu web site: Rare but serious skin reactions and allergic reactions have been reported...People with the flu, particularly children and adolescents, may be at an increased risk of self injury and confusion shortly after taking TAMIFLU and should be closely monitored for signs of unusal behavior.

- The air quality in Mexico City is very poor, so many of the residents likely already have respiratory illnesses and a compromised immune system. Perhaps this helps to explain why there have been deaths in Mexico compared to mostly mild cases in other countries. Another factor may be poverty. I have read a few stories about people with flu symptoms being turned away from hospitals because they are "too busy" or the person can't pay, or simply being misdiagnosed and later dying.

- I am pleased that Mexico took the step to close schools nation-wide early on. And if all the non-essential businesses do close for the next five days as reported in the newspapers (I haven't heard whether Andrew's plant will close) then it seems there would definitely be an impact on transmission rate. And our family's risk of getting sick would drop to almost zero.