Did 2000 school strike stop spread of flu?
By Ofri Ilani
Israel’s relatively low rate of flu infection in 2000 may well be attributed to a teachers’ strike, a new study suggests.
The two-week strike for higher pay was held in January 2000. A study conducted by Dr. Anthony Heiman, chief of the community health department at the Maccabi health maintenance organization, found the strike has been instrumental in blocking a flu epidemic that year
The study, published in Epidemiology and Infection, was based on data collected from Maccabi doctors, which indicated closing schools forced a sharp decline in the number of flu-related visits to them in the two weeks of the strike.
The strike reduced flu not only among students, but also among their parents, teachers and the general public. “We wanted to check whether closing the schools during an epidemic lowers infection rates among adults as well,” Heiman said. “We’ve seen a very sharp drop in flu cases among children, but we’ve also seen a general decline among parents and even families with no children.”
“By closing a school you actually stop the virus transmittance process, affecting wider circles of the public. Sometimes strikes have positive effects,” he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1120621.html
3 Swine Flu Cases Cause Heart Concerns
http://www.click2houston.com/health/212800048/detail.html
By Elizabeth Scarborough
POSTED: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
UPDATED: 6:54 am CDT October 13, 2009
HOUSTON — There’s new fear that people with the swine flu could be at risk for heart failure, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.
Dr. Barry Diner works in emergency medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital, where in the last week they’ve seen a disturbing trend.
“There’s been three cases that also developed into heart failure,” said Diner.