Only vaccine can prevent risk of flu

8:54 PM Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Only vaccine can prevent risk of flu

If having to deal with the seasonal flu and the need for vaccination wasn’t challenging enough for the public, we now have outbreaks of the H1N1 flu.

Whether you are at the grocery store, on the Internet, or watching the news, H1N1 is today’s topic of rumor and debate.

The “flu” has been around for 400 years. The first world pandemic was recorded in 1580. The worst was in 1918-1919, when 21 million people died around the world.

Over the past 6 months, H1N1 (swine flu) has infected 1 million Americans, 10,000 of whom have been hospitalized. About 1,000 have died, including 76 children.

There are three different groups of influenza viruses: type A, type B, and type C. The classic “flu” is often strains of type A or B. The new H1N1 (swine flu) is a strain of type A which previously exclusively infected swine in Asia, but adapted and acquired the ability to infect humans.

There are two basic strategies in dealing with the flu. One can wait to feel ill, go see their doctor, miss school or work, take Tamiflu and wait until the infection resolves; or one can get vaccinated to prevent the illness.

How do the two options differ? Only vaccination can prevent or decrease the risk of spreading influenza to family, friends, and co-workers.

So while some debate the flu and its vaccines, we should also ask ourselves if any diseases have ever been cured in history. The answer is yes. Modern medicine has accomplished widespread eradication of measles, smallpox, and polio. How did that occur? People got vaccinated.

Sameer B. Ismailjee

Springfield

Dr. Ismailjee specializes in the treatment of infectious diseases.

Halloween display causing no harm

I was furious when I read the article regarding the Halloween display on Ludlow Avenue.

If a Halloween display for neighborhood children is such a serious problem and code enforcement has time to act so quickly while there are areas in the city which have needed attention for years, maybe the City of Springfield could save money by eliminating this department.

If the owner of the property doesn’t care, why should our city government step in and make a mountain out of a mole hill?

The display will bring joy to many and will be there for a month.

Kathleen Mounts

Springfield

Hard to hear singer at Kuss Auditorium

Recently I voted. I voted not to go see Sandy Patti at Kuss Auditorium.

First and foremost, is the fact that vocalists have the sound engineer turn up the supporting music so loud as to overhelm the singer’s voice. This was very true for Anne Murray several years ago and has been true in more recent cases.

I have mentioned this to members of the Arts Council, but was told, “This is not under my control.” So, what is under my control is my decision not to go.

I must add that the price is a bit high and the performance is on a Wednesday night, but why go if you cannot enjoy a performance approaching the sound on a CD or TV?

Nothing beats a live performance, but looking at the stage watching the performer mouth the song does not satisfy me.

Albert H. Kunst

Springfield

Share this article