As Geoff has pointed out, this is another flu virus, of which we already lots of different versions but this one has really gripped and scared the public's conscience. Hopefully it won't mutate too agressively in the Autumn and we will all still be here this time next year.
Judging by the direction this thread is moving in, no-one has been given any particular instructions over the normal ones (gloves, mask, apron, hand washing etc)
Mark

The real threats to public health in this country are alcohol, cigarette smoking, and obesity (due, in the main, to the modern idle "life-style"). Everything else pales into into insignificance compared to those three.

So, why doesn't "Nanny" simply ban the first two outright, and when it comes to tackling the third, well ... I can probably come up with a few suggestions!

Meanwhile, a lot of this stuff we hear about 'flu pandemics is nothing short of scare-mongering by the so-called "media". And of course it plays straight into "Nanny's" hands. If the British weren't such a nation of dozy sheep, people would look after themselves, stay in reasonable shape, and fend off the odd sore throat and sniffles that come along from time to time. How the Heck we struggled through two world wars is beyond me! It's not the virus that's mutated ... it's the breed!

Today we hear that "Healthcare Worker Succumbs to Deadly Flu Virus" ... but when you actually read the article, it seems that (although he was found to be carrying the virus) the exact cause of Dr.Day's has yet to be established. Now there are plans for "everyone in the UK to be vaccinated". My advice is not to be vaccinated. Or at least not until we know what this stuff actually is, what its side-effects are, and whether or not (and the latter is my guess) it's proven and safe.

How soon will it be before we see Tamiflu-resistant strains of the virus emerging. Not long, I should imagine, once people start gulping them down morning, noon and night. And, by the way, these drugs do have side effects (like all medications do) ... I'll leave you to look them up for yourselves.

If your immune system has allowed you to survive thus far, I would hope that you could do no better than let it overcome the next obstacle as well. And meanwhile, always remember that Nanny Knows Best ... and don't forget to eat your greens!

In case anyone out there doesn't know (?) vaccines are meant to work by tricking the immune system into thinking it has been infected with the target virus so that it creates antibodies against it.

Then, if subsequently exposed to the actual virus, the immune system recognises the invader, then attacks and destroys it before it can cause illness.

The bottom line here is:- take good care of your thymus (how?) ... you never know when you might be needing those killer T cells!

Geoff raises a good point regarding the mass vaccination of everyone in the UK.
Bare in mind that this vaccine will not undergo any prior human testing and will be approved for use 5 days after availability.
I think I'll rely on my own defence systems to combat any possible viral attack, particularly as the only time I had the flu jab I was severely ill for 3 days following.

To my mind this cavalier way of addressing the "problem" demonstrates yet again that in actual fact the biggest threat to the well being of citizens of this country is from our so-called government itself.

I had better observe as well that our government always goes for the most expensive "solution" to any problem. You know, chuck £££ millions (billions) at it. That's just their way of doing things.

First Nanny stirs up unrest and scares everyone half to death, pauses for a while to let mass hysteria really take hold, then comes along to "reassure" us all that Nanny is in charge, and (there, there) all will be well. Then all the grateful sheep nod wisely, carry on munching away, and say "isn't Nanny wonderful ... how would we manage without Nanny to look after us"?

Never mind the rest of the world, let's consider Britain by itself for just a moment.

Great Britain is an island of a size that would happily support a population of around twenty million people*. The present population is over three times that figure (and rising every day). Here we have a so-called "government" (other words would be more accurate) that not only imports votes, but imports "problems" as well.

For example, a few years ago, tuberculosis was all but extinct in Britain. Today, there is a striking increase in reported cases, 65 per cent of them involving patients not born in Britain. Hepatitis B cases have almost doubled in six years, to 325,000, 96 per cent of these involving patients born outside the UK. Such are the "benefits" of uncontrolled immigration.

* The population of the UK was about forty million during World War II ... and we couldn't properly feed them!

For once I totally agree with Geoff.
Australia is also an island. Unlike th old days when you mhad to commit a criminal act, you now have to jump through hoops to gethere including English and Medical tests no matter what your qualifications are. It all adds up to a tidy sum if you want to emigrate.

That's an interesting comment there Graham, especially from someone located where you are.

How do you imagine things feel for those of us "enjoying life" in the big cities, and other over-populated areas of England?

Recently someone was lecturing me about Human Rights Law. Apparently we all (and I stress the word all there) have the "right" to life, freedom of expression, privacy and freedom from discrimination. That includes us minority groups as well!

I presume that I'm not the only one hearing about the latest Great Idea to be imposed upon us? That is the "National Care Service" (surely a contradiction in terms if ever there was one)? Can someone cleverer than me kindly explain why I have been paying "National Insurance" contributions throughout my working life?

Meanwhile (and back to H1N1), did anyone else notice that the Doctor I mentioned a few posts back has since been found to have died, not from "swine 'flu", but from "natural causes" (whatever that means).

What you highlighted Geoff was the fact that certain diseases were on the increase due to an increase due to uncontroileed imigration.
I was merely pointing out how difficult it is to get into Australia compared with getting into the UK.

Although I currently live in a beautiful part of the countryside in the Scottish Borders, I am actually a city lad who lived in Cardiff for 40 years beforehand and i will be retiring home next year.

Certain diseases that were declared "beaten" have re-emerged in the UK. This has not been attributable only to lack of prudence regarding visitors and immigrants (lack of medical examinations, etc.), but it certainly hasn't helped!

I wouldn't know about Australia, as I missed the boat there (figuratively speaking) many years ago. That is, I'm too old now to stand any chance of being "welcomed" into any country. The only place I have any right to be is here in England, and that's probably why I'm so fed up with the state of affairs here. That is (unlike most of the others who inhabit the area where I live at present), I've simply nowhere else to go!

Yes, I have known a fair few from Wales with the same name as yours, but I would advise you to think again about your retirement plans!