Swine flu: here ' s what we do next

Up to now, our plan to combat the 28% drop in Japanese arrivals has been to urge them not to take swine flu so seriously. But now it's time for a second step: we need to take it more seriously ourselves. Let's see if we can disengage the natural human tendency to try to classify everything as a big deal or not a big deal, and look clearly at the degree to which swine flu needs to be watched by all of us. Swine flu really is a milder form of flu than most. But the first confirmed swine flu death in Hawaii reminds us that you can die of mild flu if you have enough pre-existing medical problems. And let's not forget that even a mild bout of flu, in some respects no big deal, is more than a little inconveniening if you get it on your vacation. Furthermore, in Japan, where it is considered highly ignoble to let down your coworkers, you risk embarrassing yourself if you fly to Hawaii for a nice weeklong vacation, return to work, and sicken your colleagues. Japanese news media played up the fact that Japan's first confirmed swine flu cases were a couple of people just back from Canada, and the first cases in people just back from Hawaii, a few weeks later, also got big play in the Japanese press. It would help reassure the Japanese, and it would be good for us, if we got more serious about washing our hands and covering our coughs. A common vector for the spread of this or any flu is the hardy worker who sucks it up and goes to work, spreading his flu to his brethren on the job. This actually causes more sick leave than if he stayed home for a few days.

Comments

[j.k.]

Hopefully, employers will take it seriously too. I remember working for a company, a couple years ago [I understand that this situation is very different, but still], who said in an employee meeting something along the lines like "you know if you're going to visit the doctor that they'll write you a sick note. Even if it's just the common cold you know they're going to write you a sick note, so let's get serious." I know this kept me coming into work even if I thought I had a small cold. Later that month, I worked through a 99.9 degree fever [my father got upset when he found out, since a low fever could be just as bad as a high fever, and kept me home the next day] because our manager didn't take it seriously-thought most of us were just ditching work. I know to some co-workers that may be true, but for honest people, a comment like that could cause further spread of flu symptoms.

[depressionboy]

H1N1 or Swine Flu is a bit scary but it a good thing to note that this virus is not that very deadly. .