Swine flu is here and we need to be ready

Emerging information about the swine flu -- officially the H1N1 flu virus -- may cause alarm for some.

Any amount of alarm, fear or panic about swine flu is the wrong response.

As with anything else, knowledge and preparation is what is required to respond to a potential crisis, whether it's the flu or an earthquake.

Health authorities are now warning anyone whose mild flu symptoms begin to turn serious to get immediate medical attention.

While serious can mean a lot of things, perhaps Dr. Lorna Medd, medical officer of health, said it best.

"You know when you are sick as hell."

But recent developments indicate that this swine flu can cause rapid lung deterioration in otherwise healthy people. Researchers don't know why someone who comes down with H1N1 may decline so quickly while others don't.

For those wondering when the serious phase kicks in, requiring immediate medical attention, they may want to remember an old advertisement for the Canadian Lung Association, with the tagline: "If you can't breathe nothing else matters."

Flu usually does not degenerate past the usual symptoms of aches, coughs and perhaps mild fever. Not being able to breathe well, or having a fever over 38 C, are not usual symptoms of flu.

The current concern of public health experts is that it is impossible to determine who will come down with such symptoms.

Though underlying illnesses and pregnancy are know to increase the risk of a serious case of swine flu, that's about it.

We are neither in a crisis, nor in need of any sort of emergency response. We need only be aware that swine flu is here.

In the mid-Island area there are about 30 H1N1 cases, much higher than usual for this time of year. One woman in Nanaimo was admitted to hospital after her symptoms developed into respiratory distress.

Researchers are also finding new aspects to this virus not seen in other viruses. It can move to other parts of the body, causing vomiting and diarrhea in 40% of cases.

This may be a new and different strain of flu virus, and it is for exactly that reason that communities need a measured and rational response. The flu may or may not spread widely, and if it does the vast majority of people will likely suffer no serious symptoms.

While the Vancouver Island Health Authority is preparing its response to swine flu, individuals should also be preparing their own responses. The first is handwashing, the best defence against any virus. Cover coughs and sneezes and practise good overall hygiene.

Those with the illness should stay at home until they start their recovery. Though most people will suffer just the usual symptoms, we also want to minimize its spread to those in high-risk categories and to keep as low as possible the number of people who will develop the more serious symptoms.

While there are the paranoid who will be convinced that swine flu is the next plague, there will also be those who will think that if they just ignore it, it will go away. Both outlooks fail to take account of the current reality. And the history of human illness is filled with stories of how panic or ignorance only spread a virus.

Between fear and complacency is a common-sense approach. Whether it's the flu itself, or our approach to it, extreme measures are warranted only when the evidence is there.

Just as a person should seek medical intervention only when their conditions become serious, an emergency response will be warranted only when a disease has become a threat.

The likelihood of that scenario is nil, and even if it did happen, Nanaimo has an emergency plan.

Swine flu may be taking on new dimensions, but we can't let fear dominate our response to it.