Swine flu raises fear of pandemic - Adults and Children

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
IF this were to go BIG and turn into a pandemic with many hospitalized - would clinicals be canceled?
I was wondering the same thing.
Would nursing students on a unit be a help or get in the way during a national public health emergency? What do you all think?
Well, depends on the student, of course, but by the end of our med-surg rotation that staff nurses were actively lobbying to be assigned a student since we were doing pretty much everything including IVP meds.

We'd probably be of less help in an institution where we weren't already known - not due to lack of ability but instead due to lack of confidence on the part of the staff.

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This is from the CDC. I think the viruses are different because one is a human virus, and the other is a swine virus. I trust the CDC info over msnbc.

Is the H1N1 swine flu virus the same as human H1N1 viruses?

No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1

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Although I am the last person who would argue that we should give animals antibiotics so we can fatten them and eat them (I'm a vegan), this epi/pandemic has nothing to do with antibiotic overuse. The swine flu (and measles and smallpox) is/are a virus, not bacteria.

Now start a thread about the potential for antibiotic use in animals to create a new super strain of bacteria, and I'm there with ya. ;)

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The difference this time is it is now spreading person to person. Yes, it has been around but up until now it was only spread swine to human. This is different completely.

No, this is not true. Swine flu has typically spread from swine to humans, but decades past have reported cases of human to human transmission, according to the CDC fact sheet. This is a bigger outbreak, so we are seeing more human to human transmissions. The previous human to human transmissions reportedly stopped after the third person removed. We don't yet know if this is the case with the current strain. This looks to me to be just a larger outbreak than in years past. Again, nothing different from a yearly flux of seasonal flu...some years it is horrible, other years it is small in comparison.

I'm not freaking out...and I didn't when the media hyped Ebola, Avian flu, SARS, and Mad Cow disease. Hell...I'm more scared about MRSA!!!!

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I'm school nursing at an elementary school and I was looking for a sample memo to distribute to the teachers regarding the swine flu situation. Is anyone thinking the same thing?

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I don't believe there is any such thing as being overprepared. I have food, water, gloves and facemasks at home. Don't forget dealing with the virus is one thing, the fallout from a pandemic could be way worse. Panic can lead to violence as can limited resources. Being that this virus really hits the young and healthy(people that make up the vast majority of the working public), this could strain an already weak economy.

Personally, I think they should close the borders, but it seems like they are afraid of people flipping out if they do that. I also think that people are already bad about going into work sick, sending their kids to school sick etc. This could get very ugly..my 2 cents..

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Thanks, yelnikmcwawa. Hopefully you are right and this will pass without becoming huge.

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fcomack,

I was thinking that, because I am in communicable disease. I'll let you know if I find anything. Also, tomorrow I am sure at work we will be coming up with something. If I remember I could email you a copy to use as a sample.

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Specializes in PACU, ED.
I'm school nursing at an elementary school and I was looking for a sample memo to distribute to the teachers regarding the swine flu situation. Is anyone thinking the same thing?

Go to the CDC website. You can follow the links there to find their current recommendations.

This page sounds like it might be a good informational page for you, http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm

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Specializes in Telemetry/CCU/Home Health.

Is anyone keeping there kids home till we see where this is going? Or am I in overreacting? I do not live in an area that has had any outbreak thus far, but my kids go to a school with a VERY high population of kids from mexican decent, which very much worries me :()

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.
Is anyone keeping there kids home till we see where this is going? Or am I in overreacting? I do not live in an area that has had any outbreak thus far, but my kids go to a school with a VERY high population of kids from mexican decent, which very much worries me :()

What does Mexican ancestry have to do with anything? Are you thinking they are more likely to have family visiting and coming in and out from Mexico?

Think of it this way: there are over 20 million people in Mexico City. As of today, 86 have died of this flu.

Besides...kids don't really die of pandemic flu too often. You and I are of the age that is in danger - 25 to 45. All of the 86 deaths in Mexico City are roughly in the 25-45 age range.

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This sounds morbid but if people start dying here from swine flu I am going to end up getting rich real quick...Death is my business after all. Don't want to get rich quick this way but yikes..it is going to get scary here in Texas. I know 4 people right now personally with flu like symptoms. They all refuse to see a doctor also.

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