The flu is no joke for anybody; the last time I caught the flu (last year, unfortunately), it knocked me on my ass for three days, then turned into pneumonia, then turned into Bells Palsy. There isn't much more disconcerting than to awaken one morning unable to breathe and then to discover that half your face has slid about three inches lower than the other half.
I was fortunate; I was able to lay around in a comfortable bed in a temperature-controlled room. I could shower when needed, eat when I was hungry, and drink "plenty of fluids."
For many of the folks I interacted with during that time last year, once I recovered anyway, they were so miserable and I often wondered how in the hell they were able to fight through such a wicked sick while living in a tent or an alley somewhere. Since most of them have no way to access treatment besides the ER, that's where they go. It cost me about $125 to obtain treatment for my illness when I visited my doc. If I would have gone to the ER, it would have easily cost three times that amount, if not more, so when someone homeless ends up with an illness that needs treatment, it is much more than them simply suffering through it in silence somewhere because those of us with insurance will pick up the tab for those without.
If nothing else motivates you to consider better conditions for people experiencing homelessness, protecting your own financial well-being might just be the key....
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern on Friday at a confirmed outbreak of swine flu in the United States and what it called more than 800 human "influenza-like" cases in Mexico, including about 60 deaths.The United Nations agency said it had activated its Strategic Health Operations Center (SHOC) -- its command and control center for acute public health events -- but could not say whether it was considering issuing a travel advisory.
U.S. public health officials said on Thursday that seven people had been diagnosed with a new kind of swine flu in California and Texas, while Mexican authorities were due to announce test results later on Friday, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in Geneva.
"We are in daily contact with U.S., Canadian and Mexican authorities," Hartl told Reuters.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the virus was a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans. All 7 American patients had recovered.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said Mexican authorities had noticed unusual activity at the end of the flu season in March and April.
"To date there have been some 800 suspected cases with flu-like illness, with 57 deaths in the Mexico City area.
"Similar cases have since been found in San Luis Potosi in central Mexico. The number of suspected cases is 24 suspected cases and 3 deaths," she told a news briefing.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordoba said that it was cancelling classes for millions of children in the heart of the country on Friday after influenza killed around 20 people in recent weeks. Mexico's flu season had extended for longer this year.
