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by Carpe Diem » Tue, 18 Oct 2005 8:41 am
I believe Singapore is safe because the situation would be better controlled than in other places.
For those who were here, just remember how strict the authorities were during the SARS outbreak.
Singapore also offers good quality hospitals with competent doctors. I am talking about quality. Quantity, in case of an epidemic, I don't know.
So I am confident that we are at the right place.
Now, I agree with other posters that we should not panic. Of course a "new" disease (this one is quite old though - remember Hong Kong in 1997) is always a concern.
But so far the transmission from human to human is not clear, at least very difficult.
And to get contaminated from birds you need very close and repeated contact (the virus is not air borne - it is carried in droplets when sneezing and can "travel" for about 1 metre).
Just a reminder that journalists tend to forget when they talk about this
"normal" human flu kills 500,000 to 1 million people every year... and 36,000 in US only.
As for immunity?
You must know that there are 2 types of immunity, innate (native) and acquired.
When you get vaccinated against flu (or if you get sick and recover) you develop immunity against that specific virus (acquired immunity).
Next time you are exposed to that virus, your body will know how to handle it.
The problem with viruses is that they keep mutating, so every "season" a new vaccination is in principle necessary.
In the case of the H5N1 virus (the principal strain of avian flu), if it were to become transmissible from human to human, we all would be potentially vulnerable because our immune system would have no "past memory" This is the scenario in which many people could die.
Unless there is a vaccine available, what you can do at the moment is to reinforce your innate immunity.
By having a healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, exercising, etc...
You can also take vitamins but beware of marketing considerations.
What you can also do is get vaccinated against the "normal flu" because, in case you get infected by both viruses at the same time, this would prevent further mutation of the virus.