An interesting titbit from the ABC:
The Federal Government has enacted powers to allow for mandatory detention of people in Australia suspected of having swine flu, if the situation was to worsen.
Whilst these are scary powers I suspect it will be necessary in the case of the current outbreak becoming a lethal pandemic, given many peoples inability to to complete a course of drugs for an illness, and thus vastly increasing its risk of becoming resistant. It’s just evolution in action..
The flu is a virus. Taking antibiotics don’t really affect viruses at all, so not finishing a course won’t make a virus more resistant to something it already isn’t impeded by.
Psychologically you’re right though. People are stupid and continue to have a it-won’t-happen-to-me attitude.
The funniest thing I’ve seen are people wearing masks over their mouths but not their noses.
Tamiflu and Relenza are anti-viral drugs (to which this H1N1 strain is currently vulnerable) not antibiotics, and I believe the same risk exists here as it does with bacterial infections and people not completing courses of antibiotics.
Agree completely about people, we’re all guilty of it at some point in our lives!