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World takes drastic steps to contain swine flu
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-30 10:23
Officials in Hong Kong, which has no confirmed cases, said workers were scrubbing public toilets every two hours in an effort to improve hygiene. "Not only will we be stepping up our usual efforts, but also we will make special efforts to make sure that our back alleys, public housing estates, recreation and transportation facilities are thoroughly cleansed and disinfected," said Gabriel Leung, undersecretary for the Food and Health Bureau. Experts, however, said it's debatable how much good disinfecting public places will do. It probably helps cut down on bacteria and kill viruses lurking on surfaces, but it's unclear whether it would stop person-to-person transmission. Ditto the advice to stop kissing on the cheek, which was among the earliest measures -- along with refraining from handshakes -- to be recommended by authorities in Mexico. WHO's Thompson was noncommittal on the "don't kiss" advice, saying only: "There are different national circumstances that health officials are going to know far better than we will. It's up to them to make that call." But at a news conference announcing the elevated pandemic level, WHO chief Margaret Chan went further, suggesting it was time to rethink the traditional three kisses on the cheek popular in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe. "Perhaps instead of having the traditional three hugs to say hello and welcome your friends, maybe you don't do that anymore," she said. "Don't hold each other and hug their face three times." The flu virus is airborne and spread through tiny particles -- mostly through sneezing and coughing. That helps explain why governments worldwide have been distributing millions of face masks, even though the US Centers for Disease Control and other agencies have questioned their effectiveness. Some doctors warn masks might even be harmful, causing people to take risks -- like venturing into crowds or neglecting to wash hands -- in the mistaken belief the mask protects them. More expensive high filtration masks like those used by health professionals can filter out fine particles carried in the air, but even these must be used properly to give real protection. Other measures, such as installing thermal cameras at airports to screen passengers from infected countries, are simply inconclusive. Scanners were set up across Asia during the SARS outbreak, but officials aren't sure they caught any cases. WHO says the usefulness of such devices is debatable. Amid the flurry of measures being taken, fear mingled with a sense of fatalism. "You can't protect yourself -- not in the way that people are traveling nowadays," said Karin Henriksson, 56, of Stockholm. "Then you would have to put the entire population in quarantine. And you can't do that, can you?" |
