Maybe not so paranoid or overreacting NOW since my kids go to Milton schools...

LOCAL, YES, there are many people who die of asthma attacks, but you know what? In the beginning a lot MORE died of them! Intelligence does indeed input much unnecessary worry sometimes, but I would much rather look back at myself and chuckle at being an over reacting person when all is said and done then be a sorry sick individual. I do admit paranoia sucks sometimes, but I go to bed at night knowing I have done EVERYTHING possible to keep my family safe, and that works for me.

LOCAL, my dear, I am not PARANOID. I am precautious! If you feel your way is normal, so be it. I am not claiming my way is normal, but I tend to believe once you become a mom, normal escapes the mind. I find it hard to believe that the government sets out to make our country paranoid. I am seriously sad that people like you are thinking that our government is always trying to ruin us. If that is normal, I prefer my craziness. If you revist history, many illnesses that were new and unknown to us did extensive damage to civilization until we found out how to get a grip on it. At least now in this day and age we have the intelligence and the means to stop epidemics before the require a private island for the sick.

gazettereader - do you know how many people die of asthma attacks each year? (+4,000). Do you know how many die from pneumonia each year? (+60,000). Where is the panic and fear from this? Do people live their lives differently because of this? I think not. Again, you live your life in fear, and I will live my life not worrying about some form of flu strain. Next the government will ask for more taxes to fight this "phantom flu".

RummageSalesRock - whatever...you live your life in fear, and I will live my life as normal as possible and I will be in complete control without the governments scare tactics or suggestions. It is paranoid people like you that the government is drip feeding their propaganda to.

Lost_city
May 1, 2009 at 2:59 p.m.
Suggest removal This is all Bush's fault!!
*************************************************damn straight

i have had these so called "symptoms" for the since thursday: tired, sneezing, and a slight cough...to me, it sounds like a cold...i do think this whole situation is a little overreaction to what is happening...i feel completly fine, am always in great health, and keep very clean and sanitary...everyone should continue with their normal lives, stay safe, and be healthy...no worries and no problems...

People who think this is over reacting are just very cold individuals. I hope you don't have children that rely on you for their well being. :( This is serious! Our country is in a very fragile state in many areas, and our health definitely shouldn't be something we take for granted. When mental strain is a factor a person's immunities lower as well. I pray everyone that has this virus pulls through now that we know what it is.

I was gonna say, I NEVER found vagina ham in ANY deli around her.
Pray tell, where do you get it, and is it shaved ham?

Is that a special cut of ham, freudian slip or did you mean virginia.

The government releases these "scares" to prove their worth to the public. First it was 2000K, then it was CWD, then it was West Nile, and then it was bad tomatoes, then it was bad peanut butter, now it is swine flu. What will they think of next? Bad cola? You morons who panic must look like idiots after a few weeks. I will continue to live my life normal, and survive just fine.

Get plenty of rest and fluids, take aspirin and STAY HOME if you're sick. Nature will take it's course (for better or worse!).
And don't forget to brush your teeth, change your oil, call your mother, and wear clean underwear -- just in case!
WHAT'S THE NEXT BIG MEDIA-HYPED SCARE GOING TO BE -- MARS ATTACKS???

just stay out of Mexico

From reading posts it's clear people don't understand how this can progress. All fun and games today. Tomorrow?

I hear that the swine flu is gonna kill us if the killer bees from the 80's dont kill us first. Im so scared, I survived the shark attacks of a few summers ago. Seems every summer something is trying kill us. I hope this global warming thing slows down or we will never have a safe winter again.

interested_party --
I'm not in anyway promoting going into work sick. What I am saying is that sometimes there is no choice in the matter when you have people who are not capable of taking care of themselves -- who have to have others taking care of them. I would much rather be home, in bed or whatever... taking care of myself and trying to get better myself. The residents living in these facilities need round the clock care. These facilities are very frequently already short staffed and do not have a bank of qualified people just waiting to step in and take over when a need arises. Are the families of the residents going to step up and take care of them when staff members are sick?

Since I've started doing this type of work, I've gotten sick ONLY after being exposed to whatever from being on the job and coming from the residents living there.

I also can't stay home from work when the roads are really bad in the winter months even though the radio announcements are telling people to stay home and off the roads. I've also made it into work in the terrible weather after a very long trip to get there and not been able to leave at the end of shift because co-workers were not able to make it in to releive me and take over. Staff working at these facilites are human and can not work round the clock caring for those who live there indefinitely.

Sometimes you have to do what has to be done regardless if you are sick yourself or not.

What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. We have nothing to worry about...

There's no need to go into panic mode, or into denial either. Use common sense and follow the guidelines. Here's a link to the National Center for Disease Control.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/swineflu_you....

My daughter is immunocompromised. I pulled her and her two siblings from attending school last Thursday. I would rather be safe now than sorry later.

My daughter gets her flu vaccine every year. She has still had to be hospitalized numerous times for flu. Her neutrophils are ineffective, therefore she does not have the ability to fight infection. In addition, she has DiGeorge Syndrome and her Bcells are too low. She does not have memory cells to help fight infections. On top of that, she has a serious heart condition that has required her to have five open heart staged repairs. She also has pulmonary hypertension, a rare, terminal disease of the lungs. I am NOT taking ANY chances. This is a strain that has not been around, therefore there is not any immunity in the community. At the same time it is the H1N1 subtype, the same as the Spanish flu of 1918.

Maybe I am being overprotective, but that is ok. I may get truancy for my other two children, but that is just fine with me (I have a doctor's note from her cardiologist who agrees with my precautions).

Maybe this strand is nothing that will die out. Who knows? the trend here is that the virus spreads easily. It has caused deaths. I am NOT risking my children.

I wonder how many naysayers there were during the beginning of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic?.And certainaly our government or mass media would never ever tell us anything but the absolute truth...correct?.

"There is no vaccine for the swine flu, so officials recommend taking the following steps to prevent getting sick,...Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it."
Ah...so then the poor schlep emptying the trash is exposed to your germs? Perhaps we should get duct tape too!
With all due respect to the medical and bureaucratic pontificators, and as eluded too in the article, as I recall, from my ambulance work days, one should not stick their hands or fingers in their eyes (very vulnerable place for infection transfer).
Might I point out to all the pundits here that more people will die in America tomorrow on bicycles than of any flu.
In 1976, while I was still in the Army, we were marched to the clinic to have a vaccination for that Swine Flu under threat of court marshal. My Army roommate almost died from the shot. More people died in 1976 from the shot than from the flu.
So...I know I am a bad person for asking this question but....what in the hell is wrong with everyone that is in any kind of authority position here now on this particular flu case?
Bob Keith
cooldadiomedia.com

If you feel like all you have is a cold would you stay home? I never stay home for just a cold, but I honestly can't say with certainty that I don't have the flu---I don't know. I have chills, but I just ate ice -cream, I have a cough. Should I call my doctor? I don't know

ski-Took the words right out of my mouth...LOL

To those of you who don't plan to stay home even if you do get sick, please realize the legal liability you and your employer have.

Your employer does not have to pay you for unworked time, but they cannot deny you time away from work during a state declared health emergency if you are indeed sick.

However, if you go to work and infect others, you can be held liable for not only their healthcare bills but their lost wages as well.

And let's face it, how would any of us feel if we realized that we infected someone who was to die because of our lack of common sense?

It's not worth it - as with any contagious disesase, if you're sick - stay home!

Oh No!!!! 1 possible case in Rock County. Lets all get our blue masks on.

hannah -- If you break your leg and can not work which in turn costs you your job.. you are not able to work elsewhere either. You are not eligilbe for unemployment compensation because you can NOT work. First question on an unemployment claim is "Were you able to and available for work."

Does this happen? You bet it does!

I wonder, if this epidemic becomes as bad as some fear, and the state orders compulsory quarantine, will the ACLU or some other civil rights group go to court and get an injunction baring the quarantines until the disease is so widespread that a quarantine wouldn't work?

Okay, 3 confirmed in Milwaukee, one in Adams county, and possibly one in rock county. How is this an epidemic? How many people have to be sick with the flu, strep, or bronchitis at one time for it to be an epidemic? If my whole household gets strep, thats more than the swine flu in the whole state/??????

There are any number of unskilled labor jobs where the employer is very strict about attendance, illness notwithstanding. Quite often, these jobs don't offer much in the way of health care benefits either. The result is the employee either must show up to work sick or spend money he or she likely doesn't have to see a doctor to excuse the absence. This adds to the overcrowding in doctor offices and urgent care facilities where people are showing up for less than urgent medical needs.

If the employee misses work due to illness and doesn't have the doctor excuse, he or she can and often will be terminated. Especially with the job market the way it is right now, employers often have their pick of any number of qualified applicants.

I once worked in a local factory that was VERY strict about attendance, especially during the 90 day probationary period. Missing more than 1.5 days of work during that time frame for ANY reason was grounds for termination. About a month into the job, I was served with a subpoena to testify in court because I was a witness to something. I took the subpoena to my employer and told them I would be missing work a few days later because I was to be in court. They came thisclose to firing me for complying with a court order. HR finally consulted with the company's legal counsel and determined it wasn't in their best interest to fire someone for that reason. Probably because they knew I'd likely raise a stink about it.

Prior to when this gentleman began his self-imposed quarantine, where was he? Where did he go? Who was he in contact with?

Sooo...what do we know. It is here, it will to spread through the community, and we can do things to keep others from getting sick. If you got the flu, stay home. If you don't want the flu, wash your hands. Sounds pretty simple to me.

Warm, the guy is confined -- voluntarily -- to his home. That's what the health dept. recommends for anyone with an infectious disease.
-- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

sannio -- How do you care for your infant or your children if you are sick?

Residents living in the assisting living centers, nursing rooms, group homes still need to be fed; still need to receive personal cares and that includes being showered and cleaned up as well as having depends changed on a regular and frequent basis. Some are bed ridden and need to be turned every 2 hours to prevent bed sores. They still need to have someone there to pass needed medications that they take on a daily basis. Some need assistance walking.. some need assistance getting into wheelchairs.. and some one has to be there to call an ambulance if they needed to be transported to the hospital. Lets not forget that those in wheel chairs also have to be transported to different doctors appointments, dental appointments, etc. Lets not forget that cleaning and other household tasks have to be taken care of as well.

People living in these facilities need to be cared for regardless if staff is sick or not... Just as you'd need to tend to an infant if you were sick yourself. They can't take care of themselves and that's why they live where they do to begin with.

When I worked at MERCY I was told that they do not accept Dr's excuses....

deborah21154 - I'm confused. How are you helping people if you're going into work sick to begin with?

There are a number of folks working in health care positions. Folks working in hospitals where a much larger number of peope are employed stand a much better chance of having the ability to have shifts they are scheduled to work covered but can not work due to being sick. The folks who work in assisted living centers, nursing homes, and group homes who employee far fewer numbers of employees and tend to be short staffed to begin with do not have the luxury of being able to stay home for seven days if they are sick. The residents in these facilities need to be cared for regardless of how many of the employees are sick. Those facilities can not just be shut down.

there's something wrong with that picture that you have no sick days and employer doesn't take doc's note? are you self-employed?

Sorry! I don't have sick days, and my employer does not accept doctor's excuses. If I get sick, I hope everyone there does, too!

The man's case is said to be mild, and he was not hospitalized. People who had been in contact with him are being contacted and asked to stay home for seven days.
-- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

ok so by that logic if my brother goes to mexico, gets the disease there, comes back but dies it shouldnt go against the Statistics of people who died in the US? get a clue. this disease is a week old in the US, It took almost a month for people to begin piling up after mexico got it, im not saying panic but dont underestimate anything.

miltonalum wrote: jimpi a 23 month old died of this in texas a few days ago, dont say noone.

Reread what I posted. I said, "Outside of Mexico or people who contracted the virus in Mexico at the time this story broke, NO ONE has died of this strain of swine flu."

The child to whom you are referring contracted the virus in Mexico at the time the whole story broke. The child didn't contract the virus from visiting Mexico, nor from someone who had traveled to Mexico recently.

those were my exact plans tonite jimPl. i hope theres no lightning on the horizon...

Is this person hospitalized in a negative-pressure type room?

jimpi a 23 month old died of this in texas a few days ago, dont say noone.

Lost_city "This is all Bush's fault!!"

How do you figure? Were 9/11 and Katrina his fault too? Poll all the little voices in your head and get back to me with your answer after you are done fashioning your protective cap out of tin foil!

Mother Nature will do what needs to be done despite what we say, or do.

Just to put this all in perspective. Outside of Mexico or people who contracted the virus in Mexico at the time this story broke, NO ONE has died of this strain of swine flu. Zip, zero, zilch, nada.

So, odds are greater you'd die from being struck by lightning while standing on a ladder in your bathtub singing In a Gadda Da Vidda at the top of your lungs than if you were to contract the swine flu.

...just waiting for the GM angle to come into play...

Soooooo what happens when people get tested and have the swine flu, theres nothing that gets rid of it?!

And it's probably in rock county now...

How are people suppose to work and what not this is horrible.

WOW! All I'm saying is that this is nothing to joke about when something has ended even one person's life. And is it truly over reacting when people are taking making measures like washing their hands more and staying away from areas where people are known to be infected??
fbcoach66- get a grip.

I find there is far more childish chiding about "overreacting" than actual "overreacting". Some people seem to prefer no discussion or no news at all to actually discussing an ongoing serious health issue like adults.

This is all Bush's fault!!

gazettereader, I don't recall saying it was ONLY significant if it's someone in your family. I am referring to putting things in perspective. For example, the 24 million workers unemployed in our country right now. The 21 million people in our country suffering from diabetes. The 33 million worldwide infected with AIDS.

Gazettereader,
You are the typical overreacting panic person. Is one death significant if you are related? Yes, but in the time I type this hundreds will die on roads all over the world. Should we ban cars? The common cold is a virus with no vaccination. Should we all lock our doors and hide from Oct to Feb during cold season?
***
Take it in stride, you are more likely to die falling down your stairs in the morning than from the N1H1 virus, so if they define "ignorance", you must define "insanely over-reacting". Hope you have your stairs removed for a safer ramp by Tuesday it might rain.

All virus's and cold's can kill you. It is called population control. There you go. Lots of people are thinking it, and I said it!!

Actually, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are great for all microbes (viruses and bacteria).

OINK OINK!!!

I'm pretty sure I read that the hand sanitizers are useless since they kill bacteria and we're dealing with a virus.

Wiscchick- so it's only significant if the person that died is related to you? I think you just defined the term "ignorance".

I heard the man's name on the radio just now. It is Porky Pig.

Overreacting?

Lots of viruses spread throughout the country without vaccines. Think the common cold. And as for having ultimely killed a significant amount of people.....of course, it's significant if one of those people is in your family. However, with a worldwide POSITIVELY KNOWN swine flu total of 331 and a POSITIVELY KNOWN death toll of 12-15, this needs to be kept in perspective. Be cautious, use common sense, and quit reacting like the sky is falling.

Some people are so ignorant. If a virus is spreading throughout the country without any sort of vaccine available and has ultimately killed a significant amount of people, how is it that people are "over re-acting"???

There is no need to be any more afraid of this virus than any other influenza virus. Yes - influenza can be deadly (every year) to those who are otherwise compromised, but not excessively so. We've had about a weeks worth of cases in the US now, and the only death was to a young child who had "underlying medical issues".

So, yes, this is a virus to avoid if possible, and I encourage everyone to take reasonable precautions like those mentioned in the article. But there is no need to panic. The vast majority who contract this virus will be mildly to moderately sick for a week or so, and then back to normal.

The best advice: If you are sick - stay home!!! Need something? Call a neighbor or relative or friend- have them go get it for you, and leave it at your door. It is the not the "really sick" person that is going to spread this illness - it is the "mildly sick" person who thinks they are so essential that they can't stay home.

Can't wait for the retro viruses to come back. Then everyone can freak out about the west nile, bird flu and SARS all over again for nothing. If we were a third world country, yeah then worry. By the way Purell works great for killing germs.

everyone should be very cautious,especially when working with the public. and i agree if you are sick stay home. when you are out in public be careful and wash your hands, and use the sanitizer on your hands, take no chances.

gabby06, Let's just hope that if someone has symptoms, they have the sense to go in to be tested so that they aren't exposing others. The deaths from the common flu are most typically elderly with already compromised immune systems, or very tiny infants. Healthy individuals do NOT have built up immunity to this strain so I don't think people are overreacting at this point. The lack of immunity also makes this strain highly contagious from what I have read.

Please keep in mind all the health care workers who are going to be more exposed to this as more cases come up. Yes there are trained to prevent themselves and others from contracting it, but things still happen. I hope everyone listens and stays safe. No need to overreact though. More people die from the 'regular flu' than the swine flu.

Yay! Time to over-react!