You’ve probably noticed there’s not much in today’s Dover Post about the worldwide outbreak of influenza. It’s not that we’re ignoring it, it’s just that nothing really has happened in Kent County that requires any amount of coverage.
And that’s a very good thing.
Locally, there have been no reported cases, except for two students at Delaware State University who came down with flu-like symptoms, according to school spokesman Carlos Holmes.
Both recently had been up at the University of Delaware, an “area of known confirmation,” Holmes said. Fortunately, tests on both DSU students came back negative.
The lack of a major flu outbreak in Delaware can be traced to one major factor: public awareness. While some may feel the outbreak has been overhyped (and that’s true, in part) it also means people are taking the necessary precautions: washing hands, using a napkin when sneezing — and then throwing it away — and staying home if they’re feeling under the weather.
Local health officials, including those with the Delaware Department of Public Health, have been diligent about putting out information on how to avoid infection and we’ve been paying attention.
As of this writing, there have been 20 cases of the flu in Delaware, with no deaths. Nationwide, there have been 286 cases, and one death, as well as 1,124 cases worldwide in 21 countries. Of these, 26 have been fatal.
It’s a cause for concern, but not for panic. And it’s also cause to be prepared in the event this strain of flu reappears in the fall.
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Notice that in the preceding paragraphs I did not refer to the current outbreak as “swine flu.” That’s because the Centers for Disease Control began to refer to the outbreak as the “H1N1 virus” about a week ago.
However, according to an email from the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, the World Health Organization now is referring to the virus as the “Mexican flu.”
That American officials are not talking about “Mexican flu” is due to “hyper political correctness,” according to an email sent by the PAC. People don’t want to offend Mexicans, said ALIPAC spokesman William Gheen.
The problem is, that’s not true, according to a spokeswoman for the WHO.
“The World Health Organization refers to the virus by its scientific name, ‘Influenza A(H1N1),’” said Olivia Law-Davies, spokeswoman for the Geneva-based group.
“We have never referred to it as ‘Mexican flu,’” she added.
I’m just as much for controlling our borders and enforcing legal means of entering this country as anyone else, but to turn this influenza outbreak into a political issue is ludicrous.
Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.
