piggy flu

So due to the media hype about the swine flu I have decided to post another blog for everyone. I feel like the media is really blowing this thing up- so far in Mexico they think about 150 people have died from this flu strain but even those are not confirmed yet. In a city of 20 million (Mexico City) they only have a total of 2000 some suspected cases. Not to downplay this flu virus at all because it has been rated as a level 4 by the World Health Organization and it has been spreading rapidly, but we have not yet been touched by it in Los Reyes. Most people had not heard of it before yesterday morning (Monday) and by yesterday afternoon all schools in the entire country had been ordered to shut down. This includes Culturlingua so we are now on vacation until May 6th at the earliest.
Again, I am not downplaying this at all, nor are many people even here in Los Reyes. We went to a few pharmacies yesterday to attempt to buy masks and they were all out. We are going out again in search today for masks to wear while we are out and about, hopefully a pharmacy will have some. Many people are already wearing them driving around or walking around town. As far as I know, nobody has fallen ill here in Los Reyes or even in the surrounding areas but it is much harder to tell here because many people try to treat themselves thinking it is just the regular flu at the end of flu season. As far as I have seen here it is just the schools that are shut down, most businesses are carrying on as normal and people are going about their normal lives. Maybe it is part of the Mexican culture but they seem rather unfazed by the whole thing and that is probably why I am not as nervous as many of you at home. I feel this is a classic case of the media blowing the entire thing up; every news channel is carrying continuous news about the spread of it.
I am not sure why it is lethal here and not in other countries, it has spread much faster I believe just simply due to sanitation and culture differences in greeting people here. The normal greeting for anyone, whether just introduced or greeting a good friend/relative/business associate is to kiss them on the cheek while shaking their hand. This has been banned in Mexico City but old habits die hard and many will still do it so as to not be rude.
I will keep everyone updated on the conditions here, but so far everything you are seeing on the news is taking place in Mexico City which is 8 hours by car or bus from here. It will most likely spread further as the transportation in this country makes it easy to travel and many people are going about their regular business. Many people are aware of the situation and like I said, masks have become a frequent sight even here in Los Reyes and the media is making sure everyone knows about it. I’m not sure about the supply of antiviral drugs here, hopefully they have a stockpile!
No worries yet from Los Reyes, we are in high spirits and are simply trying to figure out what to do with 8 days off of work with nothing to do and our travel plans for the holiday weekend canceled!! I’ll keep you all updated on here if anything changes in my area!