tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74481512087823793142024-03-13T14:58:08.158-07:00A Journal of the Plague YearJournalist Alan Cleaver reports on the impact of swine flu in the UK with a particular slant on how the media report the pandemic. The views expressed are his personal views only.Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-57430122181835179422010-01-15T01:38:00.001-08:002010-05-21T08:18:44.172-07:00Last writes<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Swine flu has come to an end in Britain - official. The health authorities have decided that swine flu figures in the UK are now so low that they are stopping their weekly briefings. So it seems an appropriate time to draw this swine flu blog to an end. It has been amazingly popular - easily the biggest 'hit' on our website over the last six months so thank you to all those who have tuned in to my daily rantings. We've raged against the lack of information, laughed at the miracle cures, marvelled at the good work of the health professionals and spared a thought for those families who have suffered the tragic deaths from swine flu. If a third wave does hit, I'll be back. But in the mean time, I wish you good luck and good health - <em>Alan Cleaver. (P.S. Do join me on my other daily blog, <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/copelandcrack" href="http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/copelandcrack">Copeland Crack</a>).</em></span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-54952196950721479362010-01-13T01:18:00.000-08:002010-01-13T01:18:29.003-08:00A good luck virus anyone?<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Watch out for Horizon on BBC2 tonight (Wednesday) at 9pm. It's all about viruses, specifically H1N1 and why some of them turn into killers - makes a great follow-up to remake of apocalyptic TV series Survivors on TV last night! One wonders if they'll also consider any 'good' viruses. Who can forget the superb Red Dwarf episode that postulated that positive viruses might exist, such as the 'good luck' virus. Now a pandemic of that virus would make a nice change!</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-75919739332989436022010-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:002010-01-12T08:04:07.562-08:00Wacky headlines reprise<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Just when I thought my collection of wacky swine flu headlines was complete, The Australian kindly supplies a new one which I rather like: Regrets? We've had a flu... Very clever! For those who missed my previous collected headlines:-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">• ‘Swine Flu Pope’ under investigation for gross conflict of interest</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">• No Swine Flu deaths in Botswana </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">• Canadian Aboriginals get body bags after asking government for swine flu help </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">• Is St Thérèse of Lisieux spreading swine flu? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">• Prisoners Got Drunk On Swine Flu Gel </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">• Now they want to ban handshakes </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-67115580621991231082010-01-11T08:36:00.000-08:002010-01-11T08:36:04.188-08:00A personal query<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">One personal query: I've still not been called for my swine flu vaccine jab (I'm slightly asthmatic). If there are all these millions of swine flu jabs lying around doing nothing, can I now have mine?! And can anyone else who, like me, still worries about swine flu, now go and get a jab?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">I bet you're all wondering what happened to Sunday's swine flu blog?! Sorry, I simply 'forgot' after a rather busy day photographic an iced over Derwentwater </span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-71792558771610726432010-01-09T09:57:00.001-08:002010-01-09T09:57:59.354-08:00Riddle of rise in deaths<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Everyone is so excited about the decline in swine flu that the astonishing jump in deaths in England last week almost went unnoticed. The weekly UK death toll jumped from 300 to 355 (most of those in England). The Times had this to say: "Sir Liam Donaldson said that this did not mean the virus was getting worse. 'I don’t think you can read into the apparently larger increase any particular trend or worsening of the situation,' he said. 'It is just that we are still continuing to see deaths broadly at the rate we have been seeing them.' He added that there had been a “striking increase” in the number of over-65s being admitted to critical care in hospital." Pensioners have traditionally been all but immune to swine flu so this is a worrying announcement. One to keep an eye on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">And having asked a couple of days ago about the cost of all the stock-piled swine flu vaccine we may not be using now, many papers today have picked up on that (well, I'm sure they'd have thought of it on their own!). The total cost of swine flu could be one billion pounds. Terrifying.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-30455507883768555482010-01-08T05:29:00.001-08:002010-01-08T05:30:00.714-08:00Don't forget meningitis<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With swine flu on the back burner at the moment, it's timely to just pass on a warning about meningitis which rears its ugly head during the winter months. In fact, nearly 60% of the most serious bacterial types occur between October and March, and although the disease affects all ages, over half of those cases will be in children under 5. Fighting common infections like colds and flu weakens people’s immune systems, leaving them more vulnerable to meningitis. People are also at increased risk as in winter they tend to spend more time indoors and in closer proximity to others, which means germs are spread more easily. With the current cold snap set to continue, more people will be spending time trapped indoors, trying to keep warm, which could potentially mean a higher risk of the disease. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sue Davie, Chief Executive of the Meningitis Trust, says; “Meningitis is a disease that strikes quickly and can kill, if left untreated, in just a few hours. With experts suggesting that the bad weather could continue for a few weeks, we are urging people to remain vigilant to the symptoms. Worryingly, the symptoms can easily look like other, more common conditions, such as flu or swine flu. But, it’s important to err on the side of caution, be aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis, and seek medical attention as a matter of urgency if you suspect the disease.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Common signs and symptoms include fever (possibly with cold hands and feet), vomiting, headache, stiff neck, dislike of bright lights, joint or muscle pain, drowsiness, confusion and, also, in babies, dislike of being handled, pale blotchy skin, unusual cry, and a blank staring expression. Both adults and children may have a rash (septicaemia) that doesn’t fade under pressure. Symptoms can appear in any order and some may not appear at all. Rapid deterioration will take hold if left untreated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Visit www.meningitis-trust.org or call the 24-hour helpline, staffed by nurses, on 0800 028 18 28 to get a full list of symptoms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-77888701729382825242010-01-07T07:02:00.000-08:002010-01-07T07:02:00.999-08:00Nostradamus and all that<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuBzMw_hs7hjl17aIaUx2pprHAhwrL3uN3sdkfxdB3yJqEHqbKEjZMHnpblIZfLKbkh-d6sT2aZNppXWy2C_TqyqkrQVR-P_dBkTz-fpNIhfDGnKvw2btRLHLQJGt_PIeHpn1xfm2pLg/s1600-h/nostra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuBzMw_hs7hjl17aIaUx2pprHAhwrL3uN3sdkfxdB3yJqEHqbKEjZMHnpblIZfLKbkh-d6sT2aZNppXWy2C_TqyqkrQVR-P_dBkTz-fpNIhfDGnKvw2btRLHLQJGt_PIeHpn1xfm2pLg/s200/nostra.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Did Nostradamus prophecy swine flu? Zazzle certainly think so as they're selling T-Shirts with his "When Pigs Fly" prophecy printed on them. But in fact Nostradamus never said that and the phrase seems to have originated (rather worryingly) in swine flu capital Scotland some time after Nostradamus' death. But, hey, it's a great T-shirt. There were many doom-ridden predictions at the start of swine flu last year but before you start laughing at expectations of 40 deaths a day in Britain, it's worth remembering that millions may indeed have had swine flu as predicted in the UK - but a weaker than expected swine flu and vaccinations have reduced the number of deaths. And the usual winter flu deaths have been very low so it's good news all round.</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">My apologies for the technical glitches that (yet again!) saw my blog vanish yesterday. Hopefully we're back up and running now. Good job I keep a back-up!</span><br />
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</ul>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-61423300399902382372010-01-07T05:30:00.000-08:002010-01-07T05:30:03.117-08:00Just wondering...<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">One wonders how much taxpayers' money has been spent on swine flu vaccinations that are now just sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Could be worth a Freedom of Information request!</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-81393624040268311072010-01-05T08:39:00.001-08:002010-01-05T08:40:45.422-08:00It's all a conspiracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8eDDxcmwz_VudjieqTkid0yLh2LbQ7Cz4DgJE6rG2NkmO9msgr0D80j_JT76G6cAiDyhFQ-sHFsmjGlbfwVqzlZd38AHnh-ia-zkj1W6icoV06gRFCT436pq_zxVhZUAh4gmBfMG3c8/s1600-h/jab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8eDDxcmwz_VudjieqTkid0yLh2LbQ7Cz4DgJE6rG2NkmO9msgr0D80j_JT76G6cAiDyhFQ-sHFsmjGlbfwVqzlZd38AHnh-ia-zkj1W6icoV06gRFCT436pq_zxVhZUAh4gmBfMG3c8/s200/jab.jpg" /><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Whatever happened to conspiracy theorist Jane Burgermeister? I wrote about her last August and her belief that swine flu was all a plot by President Obama and other world figures. In short, the vaccine (rather than the flu) would kill millions allowing the ruling elite to seize natural resources and all the homes left vacant by the dead (though what the elite would do with all these empty homes is unclear). Last August she had 6,000 followers on her <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102894871603">Facebook page</a> and although she's still going she now has only 5,000 followers. I was intrigued however to note that she apparently paid a flying visit to Scotland for a protest march against vaccination. According to <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/scotland/Edinburgh-protesters-march-against-swine.5907279.jp">The Scotsman</a> only 80 people took part in the march. I was rather surprised that they chose Scotland for the march. If there's one country in the UK that's suffered more than most from swine flu (and therefore you would think would have the vaccination asap) it's Scotland. For the record, the number of people killed so far in the UK from swine flu: 300. Number killed by the vaccine: nil. But the media is no doubt part of this 'conspiracy' so visit Jane Burgermeister's <a href="http://www.theflucase.com/">website </a>for the 'truth'.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-2082753768960108502010-01-04T07:09:00.001-08:002010-01-04T07:09:19.529-08:00So, where are we now?<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The dust is settling on 2009 and it's time to look back on the Year of Swine Flu. Where are we now? Well there have been 300 deaths in the UK (Scotland 56, Northern Ireland 14, Wales 27, England 203). There were two main waves of swine flu in 2009 and a third wave early in 2010 can't be ruled out. Internationally there have been 11,516 deaths. It's not been the doom-laden pandemic that some prophesised back in early 2009 but that's little consolation to those who have lost loved ones. One's tempted to think that the press and public should be praising the health authorities for doing such a great job in minimising the effect of swine flu - but it doesn't work like that. Instead we'll just criticise them for getting into a panic about something that fizzled out!</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" />Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-21397580960490351392010-01-03T09:36:00.000-08:002010-01-03T09:36:00.977-08:00Swine Flu Secrecy Award 2009<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I feel that I should be giving out swine flu awards as it's the end of the year. Everyone else is having awards for the best and worst of 2009 so I'm going to hand out my Swine Flu Award for the most idiotic piece of secrecy of the year. It's shared between the health authorities in Newham and Ayrshire & Arran (and probably many others). Both these authorities refused to reveal the gender of a swine flu victim in 2009. Now I can understand the need to respect the wishes of families at a time of tragedy but it's hard to see how announcing whether a man or woman had died could worry anyone. And it's no good the same health authorities moaning when people refuse to have swine flu jabs with such a lack of information. If people (wrongly) believe only elderly women or those already sick with underlying health problems then there's little pressure to have the jab. If the public were told x number of healthy young men, or y number of pregnant women are dying of swine flu it makes it all the more relevant. If swine flu really has gone away for good then I hope any 'inquest' into how this pandemic was handled includes highlighting the lack of data given to the public.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-54653247582388850152009-12-18T07:38:00.001-08:002009-12-18T07:38:59.478-08:00End of the second wave?<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Judging by the drop in swine flu figures over the last few weeks, it would seem we are coming to the end of the second wave. Could it be the end of swine flu or will there be yet another wave in the new year? We will have to wait and see. In the meantime I'm off on a week's holiday ahead of Christmas so it seems a suitable time for a break. I may add any breaking news on here. And keep an eye on my other blog, <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/features/copeland_crack_1_646436" href="http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/features/copeland_crack_1_646436">Copeland Crack</a>. For those not from Cumbria, I should explain that 'crack</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">' is a dialect term for gossip or chat - not some suspect drugs!</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-35097328015172449822009-12-17T14:11:00.001-08:002009-12-17T14:11:52.544-08:00Caption competition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwcSStYTweoQhuQyeERN3ug75pdODkRoxBt89OSq4KLNtmMqZtBCFbdKXIOv9SbiZ46Ds1oKLKxXHI_VnI5E6bw4YTiyw55QSBgowetFjJPvrsNtKZKv7u68xgkmzfhERaf-VSGORjRQ/s1600-h/IMG_6727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwcSStYTweoQhuQyeERN3ug75pdODkRoxBt89OSq4KLNtmMqZtBCFbdKXIOv9SbiZ46Ds1oKLKxXHI_VnI5E6bw4YTiyw55QSBgowetFjJPvrsNtKZKv7u68xgkmzfhERaf-VSGORjRQ/s200/IMG_6727.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">It's the must-have toy for all swine flu followers: A swine flu cuddly toy from GiantMicrobes! And I'm prepared to go to all the expense of givine one away free to the person who comes up with the best caption for the picture of me holding the GiantMicrobe (above). Just email your caption to <a _fcksavedurl="http://alan.cleaver@whitehaven-news.co.uk" href="http://alan%2Ecleaver@whitehaven-news.co.uk/">alan.cleaver@whitehaven-news.co.uk</a> by midnight on December 31st 2009 and the best one will win.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-35546996119181513492009-12-16T12:33:00.000-08:002009-12-16T12:33:26.343-08:00Swine flu spin<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Doing my usual trawl of swine flu news, I came across the startling news that "The UK’s Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson resigns". And this world exclusive was in the Pharma Times - had this unusual news service really scooped the BBC et al? Er, no. Having been tricked into clicking on the link I was duly told that he is <i>due </i>to resign in May - as has always been planned, after 12 years dutiful service. If I need to increase hits to my website I usually resort to reviving the Parton sea monster story or I light a Chinese lantern and wait for UFO reports to flood in. But hats off to The Pharman Times for some delightful swine flu spin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-3787457343910421132009-12-15T08:20:00.000-08:002009-12-15T08:20:15.179-08:00You can quote me on that<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">In addition to swine flu headlines, I keep an eye out for swine flu quotes. And the 'distance' of a few months is already showing one or two of them to be dangerously naive. Take my favourite from Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary (The Times April 28, 2009): “It is a tragedy only for people living ... in slums in Asia or Mexico. But will the honeymoon couple from Edinburgh die? No. A couple of Strepsils will do the job." It would be funny if the people of Scotland hadn't been so badly hit by swine flu. <br />
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And I'm not sure how genuine this one is (it's doing the rounds on the net) but it seems to illustrate how in the early days even someone getting swine flu was considered news: "People in the town of Chipping Sodbury were shocked to learn today that a member of their community had swine flu."</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-69913657478938398652009-12-14T06:33:00.001-08:002009-12-14T06:34:31.216-08:00Leave emotion out of it<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">The post at the end of my <a href="http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/news/swine_flu/swine_flu_blog_christmas_cheer_1_587149?">Whitehaven News blog</a> from Mary Grady is typical of the frustration felt by many people hearing conflicting views about the swine flu jab. She asks for my opionion and I always have to start by saying I'm a journalist, not a doctor. But I'm not going to chicken out of stating my view: Yes, I would get the swine flu jab (I have asthma so will no doubt get called up at some point). Mary says it is "very emotional" trying to decide. Well it is but emotion is probably the last thing you need to make the decision. I'd rely instead on cold logic. Which is more likely - getting swine flu or getting complications from the swine flu jab? In short, getting swine flu. Both are rare occurrences at the moment but it's no good starting to get a bad reaction to swine flu and then wishing you'd had the jab. If you're deciding to have or not have the jab it has to be based on 'something' and "just a feeling" ain't no good. So you have to base your decision on cold scientific logic - in which case there's no argument: have the jab and stay well. These articles on the New Scientist website may also help you: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427321.100-swine-flu-eight-myths-that-could-endanger-your-life.html" href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427321.100-swine-flu-eight-myths-that-could-endanger-your-life.html">Swine flu - eight myths that could endanger your life</a>.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-3054783815577332802009-12-13T13:39:00.001-08:002009-12-13T13:39:32.679-08:00Christmas Cheer<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">I'm worried that this blog is a bit too depressing at times so for Sunday here's a piece of good news and Christmas cheer to show it's not all doom and gloom in flublogia. It concerns a Wiltshire man who came close to death with swine flu complications but is now on the mend and could be home for Christmas. Credit where credit is due to the health professionals on the front line in the swine flu war. See <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/latestheadlines/4789382._Best_ever_Christmas_present__for_Westbury_man_s_family/" href="http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/latestheadlines/4789382._Best_ever_Christmas_present__for_Westbury_man_s_family/">Wiltshire Times</a>.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-5946116967978016472009-12-12T12:33:00.000-08:002009-12-12T12:33:48.741-08:00Cold snap to freeze out swine flu?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGoAMZcAO3UMnFUgxytP_TVJLQG4ESXUZBQk6xQcg_RtM0h9n1UjTLTP5i4myRnBbcR1NcZPhr6xFQK1_YrSdFa51x9FDAPgzdqeRJ5lFUaqjOv6fNTp0lpWZ_ctdHR_2wv5rGw2527M/s1600-h/_MG_6723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGoAMZcAO3UMnFUgxytP_TVJLQG4ESXUZBQk6xQcg_RtM0h9n1UjTLTP5i4myRnBbcR1NcZPhr6xFQK1_YrSdFa51x9FDAPgzdqeRJ5lFUaqjOv6fNTp0lpWZ_ctdHR_2wv5rGw2527M/s200/_MG_6723.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">The temperature in Britain has dropped faster than Tiger Woods' trousers. It's been about 2C today and could drop even lower tomorrow. I'm willing to be corrected but this seems to be good news for the fight against swine flu - the virus preferring warmer weather. The old myth that cold weather gives you colds is true but only to a certain temperature. This cold snap is hopefully cold enough to even freeze out swine flu. Certainly everyone is wearing scarfs now which are probably as effective as face masks ever were!</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-80594333093673882232009-12-11T12:43:00.001-08:002009-12-11T12:44:30.907-08:00Meet Auntie Doris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zdkwFRdx7-uvU5qrvFz1LAOKMv-fl16XE1xwU4Pu7VaVJK2HS3NPH7hhaUnfDB82zTz4Sq0TQilvsoohW2_cIVqJpLLjUODhRSJ9K6PB91pgAHxQft5oJDgPbeWPR5SX6iiKAu1mSF0/s1600-h/doris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zdkwFRdx7-uvU5qrvFz1LAOKMv-fl16XE1xwU4Pu7VaVJK2HS3NPH7hhaUnfDB82zTz4Sq0TQilvsoohW2_cIVqJpLLjUODhRSJ9K6PB91pgAHxQft5oJDgPbeWPR5SX6iiKAu1mSF0/s200/doris.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Week 50 and the latest figures show another 17 deaths in the UK (actually only in England - Scotland, NI and Wales not having any deaths in the last seven days). The general trend seems to be downward which bodes well for swine flu fizzling out. May I at this stage introduce my Auntie Doris (see picture) who is 100 years old and thankfully still as bright as a button. She has survived two world wars and the great flu pandemic of 1918 and much more besides. I popped down to the Midlands this week to see her so I asked if she had had her swine flu jab. She told me she had decided not to have the jab as she had heard "so many things about it". She did however say that the free computer classes mentioned by the social workers sounded of interest to her - and she was also considering learning sign language. Although her hearing is excellent at the moment, she's considering learning it in case her hearing goes "later in my life". A lesson for us all on keeping things in perspective!</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-29799816236987372922009-12-10T14:08:00.001-08:002009-12-10T14:08:08.069-08:00The doctor is back in<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">Good grief, I was only absent for a couple of days and the whole swine flu world goes into turmoil: researchers moaning they can't get any study data from the manufacturers of Tamiflu (now why do I have little sympathy with that!) and GPs and the government falling out over the swine flu vaccine for under fives. Fear not. I'm back and from tomorrow will start restoring world order :-)</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-10098825207968123002009-12-05T11:00:00.001-08:002009-12-05T11:00:54.628-08:00Don't count your chickens just yet<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">I'm a little bit nervous at the number of people I meet (and press reports) that keep saying "the swine flu thing is over". I'm really not sure we can let our guard down just yet. I also heard today about a GP telling a friend of mine that "I ought to tell you to have the swine flu jab but actually I'd advise you against it". Now there may be very specific reasons why this elderly friend should not have the swine flu vaccination but the GP did say "many people are reporting side effects". This doesn't sound a good message for GPs to be putting out. Yes, people are reporting side effects. The chart above shows they are - just as those taking the placebo are reporting side effects. Let's keep our guard up chaps. Winter's only just started.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-79901111378699901152009-12-04T07:01:00.000-08:002009-12-04T07:02:20.673-08:00Swine flu riddle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt_RseaUu8VeLDwv76Fsynx-BsOa1oEmKN02decbE8j6F5WLPWmjlhSOCeuX3ikYWMhorAVuAAaOoGjP43W5mm-tBMJIqhOefNR7Q0nmf02qtfjbkd4GzplP1ARB2kcqeI_Hde0SJPpA/s1600-h/sha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVt_RseaUu8VeLDwv76Fsynx-BsOa1oEmKN02decbE8j6F5WLPWmjlhSOCeuX3ikYWMhorAVuAAaOoGjP43W5mm-tBMJIqhOefNR7Q0nmf02qtfjbkd4GzplP1ARB2kcqeI_Hde0SJPpA/s200/sha.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The latest figures show the usual riddle of swine flu: A general decrease week-on-week in the severity of swine flu but still a leap of 25 deaths in the last week. There have now been 265 deaths (240 last week) in the UK. I've pulled out a graph of Influenza activity around England by strategic health authority (see above). It shows London, Manchester and Birmingham of course as having the most activity, presumably because of the high density population in the major cities.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-53102645716574482472009-12-04T07:00:00.001-08:002009-12-04T07:00:37.002-08:00Swine Flu Top Ten<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm grateful again to Celvin for bringing together the Top Ten (that's probably not the right phrase) of swine flu death tolls in European countries. It's posted below but to save you scrolling down...<b> </b></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Europe: death rate by country</b><br />
So far, around 1125 people have died from H1N1 in Europe*. If we measure number of deaths per million inhabitants, Europe has seen 1.54 deaths per million people as an average<br />
The countries with the highest death rate are<br />
1. SCOTLAND (47) : 9.09<br />
2. WALES (23) : 7.68<br />
3. NORTHERN IRELAND (13) : 7.32<br />
4. MALTA (3) : 7.25<br />
5. ICELAND (2) : 6.26<br />
6. NORWAY (25) : 5.21<br />
7. LUXEMBOURG (2) : 4.05<br />
8. IRELAND (17) : 3.82<br />
9. KOSOVO (7) : 3.25<br />
10. ENGLAND (163) : 3.17<br />
11. MOLDOVA (11) : 3.08<br />
12. FINLAND (16) : 3.00<br />
13. SPAIN (135) : 2.95<br />
UK as a whole : 4.01<br />
*As reported by 29 November<br />
Ukraine's numbers are based on ECDC's data; currently reporting 18 H1N1 deaths<br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Scottish official figure released today is 49 but that takes us up to November 30 and Scotland announced a total of 51 deaths yesterday. Scotland as I suspected comes top. Even Wales comes up in second place but Spain seems to have lost its early tag of being a swine flu hot spot and is only at number 13. The latest UK figures are being released at 5pm today.</span><br />
</div>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-3476229555444047362009-12-02T08:28:00.001-08:002009-12-02T08:28:49.419-08:00Scotland's heavy toll<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There have been an increasing number of headlines in the UK talking about the demise of swine flu. That might be premature. Scotland has just announced that it's death toll has risen above the landmark of 50 to 51. Last Thursday it was 41. Scotland has suffered more than its fair share of tragedy from swine flu including the first UK victim back in June 2009. Lately, Scotland has had something of a half-term breather but swine flu has been quick to catch-up. Schools will soon break-up for Christmas giving a new fire-break but that may suggest January to March 2010 could be our worst weeks.</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448151208782379314.post-53824240002725588892009-12-01T05:54:00.000-08:002009-12-01T05:54:25.977-08:00Fisherman's Friends - the latest miracle cures<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am losing track of the 'miracle cures' for swine flu but so far they have included black elderberry, onions, green tea and Welsh Whisky. But the latest one is likely to take your breath away: Fisherman's Friends. Rumours have started that the throat lozenge beloved by grandparents worldwide is a cure for swine flu and in <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/11/14/swine-flu-cure-rumours-send-sales-of-fisherman-s-friends-soaring-86908-21820882/">Scotland at least</a> packets are now flying off the shelves. The manufacturers suspect it is because they contain aniseed which is also apparently a key ingredient of Tamiflu. Personally, it would take more than the threat of a potentially fatal disease to get me eating Fisherman's Friends. Besides if you're having onions, Welsh whisky and Fisherman's Friends what on earth is your breath going to smell like?</span>Alan Cleaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601662499267798994noreply@blogger.com0