One Flu Over The Cuckoo's Nest!

What is to become of us? Is swine flu an epidemic of frightening proportions or just something mildly worse than so-called ordinary flu? I heard Andy Burnham on the radio and TV this morning. To say that the interviewers were exasperated with him is to be kind. The man was giving all manner of mixed messages. It apparently is up to us to decide. Pregnant women should not be too alarmed but try not to go to a party with inveterate sneezers. Airlines can be zealous about removing passengers with slight colds. And so on.

Burnham should get tough. He should use this swine flu thing to repeat the message about handwashing. There are far too many dirty-habited people in this country. Whenever I go to a public loo (always assuming I can find one) invariably some man or boy walks out without washing their hands. Fancy shaking hands after that? Burnham is being far too coy. Tell it as it is! For goodness sake. I went on a school trip once and stood guard at the door. Any boy trying to escape unwashed was summarily ordered back. I have to say there was more than one culprit. It doesn't surprise me that this is spreading. If sneezed into hands and general hygiene is anything to go by.

There was a woman on the radio yesterday saying she was experimenting with flu vaccines on ferrets. Now that's where it all went wrong in Mexico. We should have had ferret flu instead. So rather than wringing our hands instead of washing them, we would be down on our knees praying to St.Vitus for a miracle or too. Perhaps one miracle would be the sudden disappearance of this hapless government.