Life in the time of Influenza A(H1N1)

MANILA, Philippines – Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez may have written the book Love in the Time of Cholera, but with current worldwide focus on, and concern about a new breed of potentially lethal flu virus, we are now living in a time of Influenza A(H1N1). However, the health experts constantly stress that it is not a time to get flustered. With proper measures, one can avoid infection or adequately fight off the disease.

At a forum held recently at the National Institutes of Health, pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Nancy Bermal concurred, “We should be worried about flu in the sense that we have to prepare for it — but not to the extent that we have to panic.”

Dr. Bermal explained that flu prevention may be a simple matter that could be summed up with the letters PSI, where P stands for personal hygiene; S for surface and air cleaning, and I for immune boosting.

On the part of an infected individual, a simple act of covering the mouth when coughing and sneezing can effectively curtail the spread of disease. For the infected person, wearing a mask as a form of “reverse isolation” could also help in preventing those in the immediate vicinity from getting infected. Since various sources indicate that a sneeze can travel up to 150 miles per hour and produce up to 40,000 aerosol droplets laden with infection, one can just imagine the havoc on health that one sneeze from an infected individual can cause in a crowd. Likewise, constant hand washing and sanitizing are invaluable in eliminating invisible viruses that one picks up from various surfaces.

 “The threat of a flu pandemic is always there,” said Dr. Lulu Bravo, executive director of the National Institutes of Health. “However, statistics show that more people die of ordinary flu than swine flu; with elderly people or those 60 and above as particularly susceptible.”

In addition, individuals afflicted with diabetes mellitus and kidney complications, hypertensive and cardiovascular patients, and those who have immune function deficiencies are even more highly compromised. For them especially, vaccination will be a prudent measure.

For all of us, however, lifestyle modification can decrease susceptibility to flu. Stress reduction, seven to eight hours of sleep, and a healthy diet with fresh fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins will help boost the immune system.

Contributing to the effort to promote flu- prevention awareness are initiatives like “Oplan Flunas,” the first and biggest private sector crusade to control and contain the spread of the Influenza A(H1N1) in the Philippines. Currently with 189 institutions as part of the coalition, the initiative is geared towards upholding PSI — personal hygiene, surface and air disinfection, and immune boosting. It is promoted by Lysol, a leading brand in the field of disinfectants.

“Influenza A(H1N1) is being discussed everywhere, but information on its prevention comes in parcels — some talk about hand washing; there are discussions on vaccination and immune boosting,” says Gerald Blanco, Lysol brand manager. “We thought that in the midst of all this, there is a real imperative to outline flu prevention guidelines that are comprehensive, complementary, and complete. We are proud to have taken the first step to bring together like-minded individuals in this initiative.”

The rainy season is traditionally the season for cough, colds, and respiratory ailments, and it cannot be helped that in crowded public spaces, there may be those who are less versed on the proper etiquette of coughing or sneezing. Undoubtedly, it is prudent for all to take adequate precautions to strengthen immunity against disease.

But however vastly tempting it may be to immediately spray the inconsiderate public coughers and sneezers with a disinfectant mist, this is an urge that one must resist. That offensive line of action could prove to be even more dangerous to one’s health and immediate safety.