It’s a remarkable thing when the president of the United States urges people to wash their hands. But President Obama did that this week. The larger message behind his advice: Swine flu is a serious threat to public health. But hysteria doesn’t help.
From the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., to the University Interscholastic League in Austin, officials have put forward a series of proposals that show a lot of concern for people but not much knowledge of biology.
The “crowds” at high school track meets in Texas, for example, are probably not the kind of jam-packed gatherings of humanity that promote the spread of disease. Canceling those events means that teens will go elsewhere — perhaps to the prosperous, bustling and, yes, crowded mall. It’s hard to imagine they would go to a less crowded place than a track meet.
The proposal — made with a straight face in U.S. Senate hearings — to stick a thermometer in the mouth of every person who crosses the border is something that’s been tried in other countries. As federal health officials patiently explained, over and over and over again, that method has been tried. It’s proven to be remarkably ineffective in controlling the spread of these kinds of disease.
Faced with a threat, it’s human nature to want to do something. The trick is to do something effective.
If you want to know what the doctor ordered, it’s simple. Wash your hands. Not just dab them under the sink. Dr. Gary N. Butka, a former member of the Texas Medical Association’s committee on infectious diseases, recommends a 15-second scrub. He suggests humming a tune from beginning to end so you scrub long enough.
Following that recommendation and other common sense advice is the best medicine at the moment.
