Understanding Swine Flu

“we’re not recommending an end of affection…”

The swine flu situation is developing rapidly, and there’s a lot that nobody knows, yet. If you want the basics, from people who know (as opposed to, say, hysterical bloggers), here’s the CDC Swine Flu and You fact sheet.

If you want a understand public health terminology and methods, take a look at the Effect Measure. I’ve been impressed with their knowledge and clarity.

I’m a big fan of the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (the CDC), and I’ve been known to read their press briefings for my own entertainment and education. At the moment, my favorite quote is from the CDC briefing on Monday.

Dr. Richard Besser [the acting director of the CDC] gave the briefing. He’d said something about how folks need to change their behavior to reduce the chance of transmission, for example, maybe not kissing someone hello. When a journalist asked a followup question he said in part:

If you’re in an infected area or if you have the swine flu it’s probably best not to give a kiss, but we’re not recommending an end of affection during the period.

It’s a period of time when we need a little more affection, but doing it in a way that isn’t going to transmit a respiratory disease would be a CDC approach.

(I’m not back. Just sticking my head in for a moment.)