Milestone

[deborahjross]

Our county just recorded the first death from H1N1 flu, a woman who had asthma, one of the underlying health problems that place patients at greater risk. The total reported cases come to 35.

I found myself unexpectedly moved at the comments of Rupert Grint about his own bout with swine flu, his fears of dying. It's so odd to think that as an older (well, no longer, as Marion used to describe me, "youngish") person, I am at decreased risk. At least, last time I checked, younger people were more vulnerable to severe cases. I guess the longer one has been alive, the more experience one's immune system has had with various related viruses (virii?). Yet the woman who died was 52, hardly a youngster. So sad.

Stay safe, everyone. I care about you.

Comments

[sardonicus.livejournal.com]

Viruses, actually. If you have a language interest, the following is good.

-http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/15/15-1540.html

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Cool!

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that...

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Sad news.
One of my closest friends is a virologist, though, and she is saying, firmly, that we must not panic or be too afraid.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

I agree. It seems to me that the things we can do -- hand washing, staying home when we're ill -- are things we should be doing anyway.

We forget that for most of human history, communicable diseases have had a far higher mortality rate. I just finished reading Barbara Hambly's wonderful PATRIOT HEARTS, with an epidemic of yellow fever and children commonly dying of scarlet fever.

Since we live in a rural area in earthquake territory, we keep emergency supplies of basic first aid materials and medicines, food (and the means to heat it) and water, batteries and battery-powered radio, oil lamps and such like. Other than periodically checking the "use by" dates of the food, there's not a whole lot else to do to prepeare for either earthquake or pandemic.