Swine Flu Reaction Unfolding on Twitter!

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7 Ways to Avoid Swine Flu When Travelling

In the past month media coverage of the H1N1 swine flu virus has died down significantly, and the UK and the US no longer advise against travel to Mexico. In some ways the world is beginning to look safe again, and the numbers of people travelling abroad are beginning to bounce back to normal levels.

However, travelling to any badly affected region will still have its risks. With the amount of people you are likely to have contact with and the amount of busy crowds you may walk through, it is important to take precautions.

Many travellers will wonder where they should and shouldn't travel and what they should and shouldn't do to protect themselves. To answer their questions, below are 7 ways to stay safe from swine flu when travelling this summer.


Image credit: Flickr

1. Where to travel
The World Health Organisation is no longer advising against travel to any country in the world, if you are healthy. This does not, however, mean every country is of equal risk. You can find the latest figures for the numbers of swine flu affected in every country.

The greater the number of cases per million people, the greater the risk of infection in that country. To be as safe as possible, choose a country with a lower number. If you must visit a country that has been heavily affected by swine flu then research what medical provisions, hospitals and stocks of anti-flu drugs are available in that country, just in case.

2. When to travel
One of the most important pieces of swine flu advice for travellers is when to decide not to travel altogether. Crucially, those who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms such as fever, coughing, runny nose, headache and body aches are advised to stay home as a courtesy to other travellers.

Most of us have heard on the news that the majority of people to die from swine flu have suffered complications, or have been in a high-risk group. Children younger than five, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone with a chronic medical condition should be selective as to when or if they travel at the moment.

Additionally, a resurgence of the swine flu virus is expected during the winter months when diseases normally spread more rapidly. As such, avoid booking a winter holiday now if possible.

3. Stay germ free
Swine flu spreads via contact with the virus, either through airborne particles or the surfaces that the have settled upon. As such, after using public transport or other facilities be sure to wash your hands thoroughly, preferably with an anti-bacterial alcohol gel. Stay away from crowds if at all possible and if you are flying, do not use the pillows that the aeroplane provides as these are often reused over several flights.

Don't worry about wearing masks – they look ridiculous and when you're a tourist, it seems to imply that you think the local population are infected. Moreover, the UK's Foreign Office states “There is little evidence of the effectiveness of wearing masks” so if they provide little benefit why stir panic by wearing one? Staying away from busy crowds is a far better way to avoid the disease.

4. Avoid touching your nose/mouth/face
If the disease doesn't spread via airborne particles then it will often do so as a result of people who have touched infected surfaces going on to touch their face before washing their hands. If you shake hands with someone who has the disease and then touch your face afterwards, you may be at risk of contracting it. Wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face as much as possible.

5. Avoid sick people
It's common sense really: if someone is indiscriminately coughing and sneezing everywhere, exhibiting flu like symptoms all over the departure lounge, then stay away from them.

6. Make sure you have travel insurance
This speaks for itself. Very few people who contract swine flu die, provided they receive proper health care in time. The best way to ensure this if you are travelling abroad, especially if you are travelling outside of the EU, is to take out a comprehensive travel insurance plan.

7. After you've travelled...
If you visited a highly affected area, then you will want to keep an eye out for a week after you've returned to make sure that you don't exhibit symptoms. If you do then limit contact with other people and seek medical advice.

14 Funniest Swine Flu Image Jokes

Here are the top 14 funniest swine flu images we found online:

Stupidest Jokes You Have Ever Seen About Swine Flu!

We know that swine flu is a very serious issue, but we all need some light relief in our lives, so here goes with possibly the greatest selection of stupidest swine flu jokes anywhere!

• What happens when someone gets Swine Flu and Avian Flu? They see pigs flying
• I woke up this morning and wasn't feeling well, so I phoned the Swine Flu helpline.
• What a waste of time, I couldn't understand a word, all I got was crackling
• I think I have swine flu... I've come out in rashers
  
• I think I have swine flu... maybe I should put on some oinkment
• My mate tells me he has got swine flu... I think he's just telling porkies though!
• My daughter woke up this morning with her hair in pigtails. Should I be worried?
• I went to my travel agent who told me they are now doing half price holidays to Mexico. Now thats a deal not to be sneezed at!
• My mate Hoski should get tested for swine flu - he hasn't been to Mexico, but he has been out with plenty of pigs in his time!
• I woke up this morning with swine flu symptoms; nausea, head-ache, sore eyes and sweating. But turns out it was only wine fever!
• I got swine flu, so I called the emergency services - and asked for a hambulance!
• This blonde woman calls her husband panicking. She says "I've run out of petrol, I'm so scared to fill-up because I might get swine flu because of where I am". Hubby says "Don't be daft love, swine flu comes from Mexico, not Texaco"!
• I won a competition - the prize was a holiday to Mexico... Thing is I can't go - I'm pig sick!
• I never thought that pigs could fly, but now swine flu!
• Oinkment just won't work for Mexican Swine Flu. You are going to need Juan-tibiotics!
• If you get swine flu, just rub salt all over yourself – you'll soon be cured!
• There is a rumour that swine flu is caused by exposure to Gammon Rays
• So it appears Swine Flu has replaced the fears about bird flu. I guess bird flu just never took off...
• You've got to hand it to the Mexicans. Even Osama Bin Laden didn't scare this many Americans.
• Have you had the email about tinned ham giving you swine flu? Just ignore it, it's spam!
• News Flash .... this just in. The world's religious leaders have issued a joint declaration that the Swine Flu pandemic is the start of the a-pork-alypse!

Any more? Just contact us with your swine flu joke and we will update this page - if we think it's squealy good :)

How swine flu affects the tourism industry...

In the months following the spread of Mexico's swine flu outbreak to other countries, airline stocks in the U.S fell by 15 percent, Mexico's tourism industry was decimated and tour operators over the board reported dips in profits. Airports, hotels and cruise operators have been the biggest losers with people either cancelling holidays to at-risk destinations, or deciding not to book in the first place.


Image credit: Flickr

As a result hotel operators in Mexico have had to fork out a lot of money on sanitisation. Door knobs are regularly wiped, hotel staff are ordered to wash their hands every half hour and all other furniture and linen is stringently cleaned or otherwise decontaminated.

Almost every business, most government offices and many public services such as museums and schools have been closed in a bid to contain the virus and this only serves to deter even more visitors. There are those that estimate that Mexico has lost over one billion dollars since the swine flu outbreak began.

As for the USA, all accusations that America was using the swine flu pandemic to boost its own tourist industry at the expense of Mexico's were blown out of the water when airlines, hotels and cruise liners began posting their profits for that quarter. With many nations such as Italy, Poland, Venezuela and Hong Kong advising against travel to America, the U.S tourism industry has seen major downturn this year.

As for Canada, travel to this country from just about every continent is down by about 10-20%. Insiders from the tourism industry in Canada, and most of the other countries, are desperately hoping to make up the numbers with domestic tourism; visitors from one part of Canada to another. With countries such as Canada this is unlikely, although still far more probable than with smaller countries such as Mexico.

So are there any countries that haven't seen a downturn in their tourist industry? Oddly enough, the Turkish government ascribes the decrease in the amount of reservations in their resorts and hotels is due to economic downturn and not the swine flu pandemic. Turkey has so far suffered less from swine flu than most other countries in the world, and so is well placed to receive safety-conscious Muslim tourists from other countries.

It seems that those countries who have been least affected are bolstering their tourist figures this year by picking up some of those tourists avoiding the more seriously affected countries. In fact, Egyptian authorities have actually been turning away tourists travelling on a connecting flight from Cairo to Mecca in an attempt to contain the disease.

Of course, as the disease is likely to continue to spread, a quick recovery in the hotel and leisure sector is unlikely. The best we can hope for is to weather the storm, catering to those travellers who are willing to take the risk, and making sure that they remain uncontaminated during their stay.

Which Pharmaceutical Company Will Benefit From Swine Flu?

It's no secret that “Big Pharma”, the name given to all pharmaceuticals companies posting annual profits above $3 billion, will profit from any widespread sickness. Whatever your opinion on the world's most profitable pharmaceuticals companies, it is indisputable that the recent swine-flu outbreak has caused their revenue to sky-rocket.


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Most of these companies will either be selling increased volumes of existing anti-flu drugs, or will be developing new drugs and vaccines designed specifically to target swine flu. Johnson and Johnson, for instance, have increased their profits mainly on the back of improved sales of hand sanitising soaps.

GlaxoSmithKline, the world's second-largest drug company, has already received orders for over 195 million doses of the anti swine flu drug that it is developing. Sales of its anti-flu drug Ralenza have shot up from $5 million dollars in late 2008 to $99 million in April, May and June 2009.

Another company who have recently begun trials of a swine flu vaccine is the French Sanofi-Aventis. The company have also recently announced that they will be donating around 100 million doses of swine flu and bird flu vaccines to poorer countries.

Of course, this will only lead to them making more sales in future, by establishing their name and reliability in these countries. As a publicly trading company Sanofi-Aventis is legally and morally bound to act in the best interests of its shareholders, and only take actions which are likely to garner future profit. Any gestures of generosity made by these companies are in reality nothing more than marketing tools and clever corporate branding.

However, perhaps the biggest profits will be found with Roche Holding, manufacturers of the ubiquitous Tamiflu drug. This year, sales of the drug have soared by 200% and profitability has increased in equal measure. Roche actually posted a 29% fall in profits for the first half of 2009. However, this was mainly due to their massive $46.8 billion buy-out of the California company Genentech.

With Tamiflu being recommended by the WHO as one of the best drugs to help diminish the seriousness of the disease in at-risk sufferers, sales will likely continue to roll in as the swine-flu pandemic increases in severity.

In conclusion, the answer to the question posed at the beginning of this article is “All of them”. When there are large amounts of sick and dying the pharmaceutical industry will most likely find a way to convert it into profit.

If there is a major pharmaceutical or medical company that is not cashing in on swine flu through the development of vaccines and drugs, then it will do so through various other medical accoutrements. The sales of face masks alone have soared; there will be no area of this industry that does not increase in profits as the pandemic worsens.

10 Countries least hit by swine flu

From its point of origin in Mexico, the swine flu pandemic has spread worldwide with almost no countries remaining unaffected. Countries have reported their tourist industries shutting down, and airlines worldwide are reporting a noticeable loss of business. In the midst of all this panic, those of us who like to travel may have to ask ourselves whether it is justified? Are there any countries that you just shouldn't go to and what are the safest? Which are the countries least affected by swine flu?


Image credit: Flickr


It is hard to judge the effects of this disease on a nation because there is such a wide spectrum of symptoms. The amount of deaths in a country may have less to do with the severity of the virus and more to do with their health care system. With this in mind, I have correlated those countries with the lowest number of confirmed cases per million habitants below, regardless of the number of deaths.

This gives us, below, the top 10 countries currently least affected by swine flu, from data gathered this June.

1) South Africa – With the lowest number of confirmed cases as of June, South Africa is the number one country least affected by swine flu in the world.

2) India – India is a big country and so a more accurate measure would be to look at the number of swine flu cases in a region before jetting off. The Goa region has claimed little to no infection from swine flu, and absolutely no difference in their tourism industry whatsoever. Other regions have been less lucky.

3) Russian Federation – Despite having had so few cases, the Russian government has set up a government commission dedicated specifically to combating swine flu. By banning meat imports from certain countries and discouraging travel to heavily affected countries, Russia has managed to stave off the brunt of the flu so far.

4) Ukraine – The Ukraine has taken even more stringent measures in the fight against swine flu. This April, authorities quarantined a plane which carried a passenger who had fallen ill during the flight. The plane was cleared once the case was confirmed not to be swine flu, but the message was clear: Kiev is doing everything possible to prevent the virus crossing its borders.

5) Morocco – Swine flu detection mechanisms in Morocco include employing doctors to monitor patients entering the country through its airports. It was in this way that one of Morocco's first swine flu cases was discovered and treated, with the patient making a full recovery.

6) Turkey – Some local authorities in Turkey have begun to introduce screening measures at airports. This has involved installing thermal cameras to try to track those incoming passengers with elevated temperatures.

7) China – China is another one of those huge countries where the per capita figure becomes meaningless. Any one of China's regions is as big as some of the other countries on this list. It is therefore safest to check the statistics for an individual region before travelling.

8) Poland – Poland didn't have its first case of swine flu until May, when a woman entering the country from New York became diagnosed of the illness.

9) United Arab Emirates - The UAE have introduced radical measures to combat swine flu, such as guaranteeing a swine flu vaccine to all schoolchildren in the state. The vaccine will be mandatory, and the program should begin by late Autumn.

10) Egypt – The Egyptian government was mocked this May for its slightly medieval anti-swine flu tactics. The state's solution to the problem was to slaughter every single pig and piglet in the country. The pandemic is, of course, mainly being spread by person to person and the cull probably had little effect on the spread of the illness within the country.

The motivation may have been more religious than sanitary with the country's Muslim population perceiving the animals as dirty, whilst its Christians rely on the animals to subsist. Nevertheless, Egypt remains largely flu-free for various other reasons.

Why You Should Have Swine Flu Friends...

What exactly is a swine flu friend? Well, it all started when the British authorities decided that it put too many people at risk for people with swine flu to drive out and collect their own anti-viral drugs. It would have involved putting the staff at the distribution centres at risk and, moreover, those suffering from heavy fly symptoms are in no fit state to drive. To solve these problems, the “flu friends” system was invented.


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They first made it against the rules to pick up your own swine flu medication, and then set up a system whereby you could nominate a friend to pick it up for you. The friend must drive to the distribution centre and present their own I.D and yours. Then they take the medication to your house and drop it through your letterbox, without having any direct contact with you.

The service is meant to go hand in hand with the governments efforts to help people to diagnose themselves from home. The new swine flu call centres and websites, linked to the NHS, mean that from the moment that you first suspect that you have the disease you will not have to leave your house. Of course, one direct benefit of this is to reduce G.Ps waiting lists whilst slowing the rate of transmission between people.

However, the benefits of a swine flu friend don't just end there. If you are suffering from swine flu you may find yourself isolated, unable to complete basic tasks such as shopping or sending letters. A swine flu friend solves these problems for you by interacting with the outside world on your behalf. As doctors recommend staying home whilst you suffer from the illness, grocery shopping and other chores are to be avoided; you're going to need someone to do them for you.
It is for all these reasons that people who do not even have swine flu are preparing themselves, setting up a network of swine flu friends to make sure that everyone they know is covered. More importantly, many are making sure that elderly and vulnerable neighbours know that they have someone to call upon if they become ill. 


With the UK being the most infected European country, it is important to take the necessary precautions and to make sure that you minimise contact with the general public in the event that you contract the disease. Find a swine flu friend, and make sure your neighbours are covered.

Science of Swine Flu for 5 Year Olds

This year, everyone has been making a big fuss about swine flu. It has been in every newspaper and on every TV news channel. It all started in Mexico where a disease that was affecting pigs started to affect the people that looked after the pigs too. However, it is very rare for people to catch the disease from pigs and you can eat pork without catching swine flu. Some people in Mexico began to die from it, but most people got better after feeling very ill for a few days.


Image credit: Flickr

The disease has now spread around the world, with someone in almost every country being affected. This is why it is now called a “pandemic”. A pandemic is what we call it when a serious disease spreads around the world.

The scientific name for swine flu is H1N1, and it is caused by a virus. Viruses are biological creatures so tiny that you can only see them through a microscope. A virus cannot live outside of another living creature, but in order to survive and reproduce it has to latch onto something else like a plant, an animal or a human.

For this reason, viruses make it their job to spread from person to person so that they can produce more of themselves. The problem for us is that a lot of viruses, like the swine flu virus, harm us when they are inside of us.

This is why doctors are currently working really hard to try to develop a vaccine for the swine flu virus. A vaccine is a very clever way of teaching your body to resist a virus. What happens is, a doctor injects you with a very small amount of a harmless form of the virus. The body then figures out what type of virus it is and begins to produce the necessary antibodies to fight it off. That means that if you ever catch the virus for real, the body already has the materials that it needs to cure you!

If someone already has swine flu then they cannot be vaccinated, but instead they can be treated by flu drugs – one well known flu drug used for swine flu is called Tamiflu. They can't completely cure the disease but make it less severe last less long. They do this by destroying some of the things that the virus needs in order to continue to reproduce.

So how can we make sure we avoid catching it? Well one of the best ways to avoid it is just to wash your hands regularly. You see, sometimes you can catch a virus from being sneezed or coughed on. Other times, if the germs from someone's sneezing and coughing have landed on a surface, and you touch your nose or mouth after touching that surface, you can catch the illness. The solution to this is to wash your hands regularly (but not too regularly) so that the germs don't get a chance to get inside of you.

Finally, another way to stop the disease spreading is to make sure that sick people stay home from school or work. That way we reduce the risk of them giving the disease to the people that they come near within the day. If you're feeling ill, make sure that you talk to your parents and they will take you to a doctor who will make you better if they think it is serious enough.

Who Will Benefit From Swine Flu?

Since the swine flu pandemic began in early 2009, those who have benefited the most have been the businesses who have profited from selling related products and services. With many stock-pickers already pointing the way, the clearest beneficiaries will be in the health care sector and more specifically, pharmaceuticals. Those who invest in these companies now, alongside existing stakeholders, are likely to see continuing profit into 2010 with the forecasted escalation of the disease.


Image credit: Flickr

Amongst the companies who are benefiting the most from the outbreak is GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Ralenza the anti-flu drug. In Britain the pharmaceuticals giant has been accused of overcharging when it was discovered that the £6 drug Ralenza only cost them £1 to produce. So far it has earned them £300 million in the UK alone.

This company is also in the process of developing and manufacturing an anti swine flu vaccine. It already has orders for hundreds of millions of doses and is sure to become a huge money-spinner for the company. With countries such as United Arab Emirates starting to introduce mandatory magazines, the market for these products is likely to continue to grow.

On top of GSK, there is also Roche Holdings, the manufacturer of Tamiflu. Tamiflu has so far positioned itself as one of the most important drugs in the fight against swine flu. It is the most frequently prescribed anti swine flu drug in many countries, and its sales have gone through the roof (multiplying by 200%) this year as a result.

Outside of the pharmaceutical industry, many other healthcare businesses are making a large profit from swine flu. Amongst them is 3M, whose sales of regulation grade surgical masks for hospitals and members of the public are shooting up. Small businesses who stock the masks in various parts of Britain have reported selling out of the masks in the last few months as demand increases.

In fact, health-care related businesses in general are profiting from the crisis. Private hospitals and manufacturers of breathing machines have reported large gains as well as companies selling sanitising hand-wash, recommended for its role in preventing the spread of the disease. It is hard to underestimate the effects of a flu pandemic upon a health care business - panic has been widespread and even small companies have reported substantial gains.

Yet, there is one more type of person profiting from the swine flu outbreak, and that is the individual investor. Those who held stock in a healthcare corporation before the outbreak may have already cashed in with a massive return on their investment. Others are buying up now following the forecast that we will see a resurgence in swine flu towards the winter months.

I will withhold judgement as to whether profiting on the cure to a terrible disease is moral or immoral. However, suffice to say, this article demonstrates that a lot of people are becoming very rich as a result of the 2009 swine flu pandemic.