A summer English camp scheduled next month in Wando county has been cancelled after three of the native speaker English teachers tested positive for swine flu. Other video reports via MBN, Yonhap, and SBS.
No details out yet about who they are or where they came from, but in June we learned that college students from the US would be teaching at English camps in Jeollanam-do again this summer. Those teachers arrived in Korea on July 19th and were undergoing a week-long orientation.
9 comments:
More like quariantation.
Does anybody know where to get face masks in the US? Or will any surgical mask do? I am NOT getting swine flu on Korean Air next week.
try a walgreens, or any pharmacy for that matter. i think i saw them there once. i'll be the same way when i travel next week. i'm going through 3 different airports, so i'm being very careful! safe journeys :)
I think most medical experts believe masks aren't really good against flu. Your eyeballs are an 8 lane freeway for viruses. So unless you cover your eyes and work very hard at resisting the natural impulse to touch and rub your eyes and wash your hands often, you're not really doing much with a mask.
Masks are better at keeping you from sneezing on surfaces and infecting other people, however.
@ mmt
I agree with your statement a bit. However, masks or any sort of protection is better than none. And also, in case of viruses or any other germs for that matter, there is specificity as to what kind of cell or tissue they infect. Simply, a virus (most) that only affects the respiratory system will almost always have no effect in other parts of your body (like your eyes, genitalia, digestive). The germs will simply thrive there for a while, and die in a very short time. In the case of eyes, its possible but highly unlikely, for the virus needs to go very deeply in the mucosa before it can start infection. The nasal cavity as well as the lungs is a different case since it is naturally filled with gazillion receptors for the germ.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm
The CDC specifically notes, regarding h1n1, to avoid touching your eyes.
of course, that has something to do with the mucosa. Im just pointing out the importance of wearing masks, regardless whether you touch your eyes or not simply because, the statistical risks of contracting the virus is a lot lot higher via the nasal tract. Since the possibility exists (infection via the eye mucosa), no matter how remote it is, then it wont do no harm if everyone will follow a general recommendation.
arv,
There is precious little data on how effective masks are in protecting people in "the wild". The CDC notes this and notes mask wearing is not recommended by people out in public.
We come back to the obvious: If you're wearing a mask and not protecting your eyes, it's like keeping your front door locked but keeping your livingroom window open.
It makes logical sense if you're not protecting a major route viruses take, then a mask isn't going to do you much good.
I don't see any evidence an H1 flu virus is any less effective at infecting you via the eyes and inhaling the virus is more effective.
Hi.
Yes little data, in the same way that there is not much study also regarding the disadvantage of using masks either. The recommendation that wearing masks is not recommended for the general public as a means of protection against swine flu is most of the time taken out of context. The fear of most public health experts is that with this wearing of masks craze, the public will tend to think that the masks alone ensure complete protection against swine flu, which is of course wrong.
"If you're wearing a mask and not protecting your eyes, it's like keeping your front door locked but keeping your living room window open"
- I have to disagree with this. Its not as simple as that. The H1N1 strain will not be classified as a respiratory virus (orthomyxo family) for no reason. You can refer to scientific journals vis a vis the FAQs about Swine flu from many websites. These FAQs and public health informations are just tip of the iceberg.
""It makes logical sense if you're not protecting a major route viruses take, then a mask isn't going to do you much good""
- Routes of infection via a pathogen especially a virus is not the same as a "route" like a highway nor a door nor a window. Its very far from that analogy. It is true that infection can occur via the mucosa of your eyes, but statistically, the risk is lower as compared to the nasal tract. If you can imagine for example these bugs in terms of quantity, you need at least 5 spoonful of viruses to initiate an infection via the eyes while on the other hand, via your nasal tract, half a drop is enough. Because thats their habitat. All the materials necessary for the virus to become alive, survive and replicate is all there. Im sure you know that viruses are not living entities, unlike bacteria.
"I don't see any evidence an H1 flu virus is any less effective at infecting you via the eyes and inhaling the virus is more effective."
The virus requires a receptor that is present in some cells in the host. Without these receptors, the virus will not be able to penetrate and damage the cells. But your respiratory lining is like a garden of these receptors. And once they reach there, then all hell break loose. In our eyes, their chances of getting in is through the blood cells and mucosa. Blood cells are flowing through your vessels lined and protected by thick membranes. The mucosa is another possibility, but still it would be very tough before they will be able to complete a cycle. So unless you have a bleeding watery eyes, then the virus have higher chances of infection in the nasal tract.
As another example, if you put the same strain of virus in another host like any other animals for example, they will not exhibit flu symptoms. But rather, they can have digestive problems for the receptors of the virus in that animal is in the intestine but not in their respiratory tract.
On a related note, our academy was supposed to visit the Paju English Village in northern Gyeonggi-do this weekend, but had to cancel our trip due to swine flu. According to our academy director, several students from a number of different groups that had recently gone to the English village were tested positive for swine flu. As a result, the place is closed for at least the next couple of weeks.
I'm going to guess this means the associated English teachers are (or soon will be) under quarantine ...
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