2009.05.01: May 1, 2009: Headlines: COS - Mexico: COS - Dominican Republic: Safety: Medicine: Public Health: Personal Web Site: Peace Corps Volunteer "The Chronicles of Tim in the Jungle" writes: I logged onto the web today to check email, and I was bombarded with messages from friends and family asking me about this swine flu that seems to be all the rage in America right now
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2009.05.01: May 1, 2009: Headlines: COS - Mexico: COS - Dominican Republic: Safety: Medicine: Public Health: Personal Web Site: Peace Corps Volunteer "The Chronicles of Tim in the Jungle" writes: I logged onto the web today to check email, and I was bombarded with messages from friends and family asking me about this swine flu that seems to be all the rage in America right now
Peace Corps Volunteer "The Chronicles of Tim in the Jungle" writes: I logged onto the web today to check email, and I was bombarded with messages from friends and family asking me about this swine flu that seems to be all the rage in America right now
I guess I don't see what the big deal is with the pig fever. This thing is all over the news, but fewer than 500 people have gotten sick. I think only one person has died. When was the last time you read a news story (or a twitter post, for that matter) about the 15 million children who died of hunger last year? Maybe we should talk about that instead. Or maybe it would just make us feel bad about ourselves. It's not quite as exciting as sick pigs.
Peace Corps Volunteer "The Chronicles of Tim in the Jungle" writes: I logged onto the web today to check email, and I was bombarded with messages from friends and family asking me about this swine flu that seems to be all the rage in America right now
Friday, May 1, 2009
In which Tim comments on Swine Flu...
Caption: Some catholics gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City on April 27, 2009. They prayed for the sick people, the government and the rest of the society. Hoping they make "good decisions" about the swine flu epidemic in our country. Photo: Pidiendo por el fin de la epidemia by sarihuella Flickr Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
I logged onto the web today to check email, and I was bombarded with messages from friends and family asking me about this swine flu that seems to be all the rage in America right now. I promise, my health is fine. I have no pig related illnesses.
I deal with pigs all the time. I chased one out of my yard this morning. I've never gotten sick from them, although I see how one could. If I spent my time handling pigs at close quarters (which many of my neighbors do) and neglected to wash my hands (which is common around here) I would expect an illness much worse than a little bit of flu. Pigs are dirty and rude. Any illiterate Dominican peasant could tell you that. They are not at all like the fluffed up little things you see in movies like "Babe". America seems shocked that these animals could be carrying disease.
We shouldn't be surprised when we consider the fact that we make these animals live packed together in cement boxes, wallowing in their own feces and eating food that they were never meant to eat. And when they get sick, we pump them full of antibiotics, killing weak viruses but possibly allowing stronger ones to thrive. I am no scientist, but this sounds like an ideal situation for the evolution of new forms of disease.
I guess I don't see what the big deal is with the pig fever. This thing is all over the news, but fewer than 500 people have gotten sick. I think only one person has died. When was the last time you read a news story (or a twitter post, for that matter) about the 15 million children who died of hunger last year? Maybe we should talk about that instead. Or maybe it would just make us feel bad about ourselves. It's not quite as exciting as sick pigs.
Regardless of how uncomfortable we may be in talking about it, world wide deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and good old starvation are many. Let's tone down the talk about the pig flu and start solving the real problems.
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Headlines: May, 2009; Peace Corps Mexico; Directory of Mexico RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Mexico RPCVs; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Medicine; Public Health
When this story was posted in May 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez. |
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Story Source: Personal Web Site
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mexico; COS - Dominican Republic; Safety; Medicine; Public Health
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