HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal Star, 1976-04-22, Page 5"
Swine Flu
coming this fall?
Fear of the Swine Flu bug is
spreading like wildfire across
the country. There are jokes
about it; there are `genuine
concerns about it. But so far,
it is really too early to say
exactly what kind of
preventative measures will
be undertaken in Canada and
in the Province of Ontario
and so '.the fears and the
concerns. mount.
The Signal -Star this week
contacted Dr. Frank.. Mills,
Medical Officer of Health for
Huron County. Dr. M$lls .has
no definite information: about
national . and prp..vincial
immunization--schiemes, .but,
he is expecting that same
kind of a mass immunization
program will get government
approval.. When it .does, as
high 'as 25,000 of Huron's
55,000 residents will probably
be receiving the. vaccine.
Is Swine Flu fatal?
According to Dr. Mills,'
°persons who come down with
what as known as A -Victoria
flu first, followed by the
Swine Flu virus, -will be ex-
tremely ill. Dr. Mills ad-
mitted there is a "very high
fatality rate" when A -
Victoria flu is follo`w'ed by
Swine Flu.
•
QO
ERIC1• :SIGNAl -ra, TAR> THU
1SD,AY, APRIL 22..1976» -PAGE
Dr. Mills went.on• to say
that normally healthy per-
sons treated adequately with
antibiotics during the •first"
' infection and persons who
take: good carp. of themselves
during their iillness, following
:doVtor's orders and getting
plenty of bed rest to permit
the body to regain its strength
and vitality will. usually
withs'tapd:the illness and be
p .,and aroundagain in a
reasonable time. -
Senior citizens, chronically
ill persons or persons . with
severe health problems are
what is known as the "high'
risk group". Children are not.
normally cbnsidered as being •
in ° any special 'danger, from
the Swine Flu virus.
Dr. .Mills is in general
agreement with Dr. Bette
Stephenson, acting Minister
of Health for Ontario, that the
vaccine which will be
available for a mass im-
munization program could
easily cause serious probferns
for persons with an allergy to..
eggs.
Dr. :Mills explained that
there just is not time to refine
sucha large amount of
vaccine necessary for a mass
immunization program to the
•
•
•
degree it would be refined
under normal conditions. The
MOH feels •thathighly. sen-
sitive, very allergic persons •
wouldbe advised not totake
the flit vaccine. •
An article appeared
recently"in The petro'it News;
writteh by the famous.'Dr.
O.gnas• .Salk who Is widely
known for his work which led.
to development of the . polio
vaccine. In his earlier years,
Dr:. Salk did influenza
research at the University of
Michigan and later. at .the
University of Pittsburgh.,
Dr: Salk .wrote his article
followingnews that, the US
,government' . plans to enter
into a mass immunization
program costing 50 cents per
person: ` Dr. Salk ,had this to
say:
There are three lines of
defense against disease: 1.
Eradicate its, cause. .2.
Prevent it. 3. The most
precarious of all, relyon a
cure. •
We are as -yet far from
having the mean§ of
eradicating influenza viruses,
•
but we do have within our
reach effective means of
reducing .the toll of present
epidemics and the means for
their possible prevention.
Why, then,- should anyone
•t' o
de Ford's -
bject to : Presi ... n
.proposal -concurred• in by
Congress tai spend 50 cents •
•per. person - to assure the
availability of • infltie:nza':.
Vaccine. to prevent,, or reduce
the effect;of a possible pan-.
demic similar to that of 1918?
Are the objections -based -on'
the .belief: tat such a par]-
demic is unlikely and that this
proposal is simply a gamble?
I think .the .proposal_ to ,
vaccinate the. American
people against influenza is. a'
sound one. The possibility has
been with Qs .for many years"
that the virus which c'aused..'
the outbreak of 1918-19 would
rectir'someday.
. .This is because the dif-
ferent strains of ' flu virus.
come andgo, causing mild or
major epidemics 'a""iii then
disappear for years at a time.
The virus which caused the
1918 • pandemic was . par-
ticularly virulent and
claimed millions of lives.
No one can say with cer-
' tainty that this virus will
return this year, or nekt'er
the one after that, nor can we
. predict how severe might be
its effects. But we do know,
tion program
that after a half -century's
absence the virus is again
present - and active inthe
pdpulation:..It h,asbeen.'
isolated at Fort Dix, N.3;, and
in other•commun ties.
Because of its long absence
from , the', ,scene,_' most
Andericans have no protec=
tion against it in tIe form of
antibodies in<their.biood'and
would ` be ` Susceptible. 'The
antibodies do not appear in
. the blood of people under 50.
But whether or not the virus_
"will reappear in full force in
the fall of`1976 is not the most
important question to • me:
What -people want to know is
whether this huge., 'Flow
unprecedented public health
program is justified.
I think it is. It is an op-
portunityfor once to close the
barn door before the horse is
stolen. The proposed •mass
immunization program would
prevent the so-called . swine
flu ' virus from taking hold
and, in addition, would -
protect: the population., for
several years.
Flu vaccine has been used
successfully for 33 years, but.
we have never really taken
advantage of . it as an in-
strument Of • preventive
•
medicine. If . ever we are to.
lighten. the economic burden
of illness cad ®;reduce ••. ,the•
tragedy and waste of death.at.
all ages; we. are going to do so
by; practi' ing .both preventive
•medictfi„eand health ..are.
• The physicians: of ancient.
China were paid, as long: as
the patient , remained, well;
they were :not paid when the
patient became ill. By relying
.on .prevention rather than.
depending on cure, the
President and Congress are
guarding our physical health
as well as aur ecbnor is
health.
Some critics of • the im-'
munization program point Out
that antibiotics have been
developed since the
devastating pandemic of 1918.
True - but !here are no an-
tibiotics againstinfluenza,
which is caused by a virus.
We can treat 'secondary
bacterial pneumonia,Ybut not
the pneumonia which Li`l
frequently stems from . the
original virus. The point. that
critics miss is that even • w
have occurred in the United
State -V" during the last 18
years.>
Antibiotics did not prevent
these deaths, and modern'.
:epndemntcs. in the winter 'a ust
past, The identification,:: of
swine-type
sw. i.ne-ty a virus at
:a qt�gr indi t iFo..on rt
that
i
vaccines currently being used
7 tea
�-•
though antibiotics exist and ev onu ivo- ' .
often are helpful; people die I feel terrible - think Int (Vining donfn with the people
_of influenza - at least a
hundred thousand in the
dozen or so epidemics'which
=�01ef051f Subdivision to be planned around_ line
PUC
PUC won't
•
A proposal to move the 27.6 the : housing development' Public Utilities Commission:•
b KV power line on the southern would be cut in _half by the Estimates : from a Toronto
edge of the Suncoast Estates line of hydro; poles. firm showed that the six-year
developrrient in Goder• ich to. , The move by Suncoast . to old line Watsworth a $5,000
keep it from bisecting a park shift the line was, according credit. to the town and would
planned in the subdiv'ision's ' to spokesmen" Ken Hutchins cost $47,000 to move."Suncoast
next stage of • development and Bert Alexander, .to suggested a split of the 842,000
has' been ruled.. out for permit• the park to be un- ' tab claiming it would be
economic reasons. • cluttered by poles, to improve advantageous, to all three
The suggestion, made' 'the looks of,.the housing' area parties if it were moved.
'• originally by- • Stinco.ast and to permitthe. subdivision:,. Town' council -balked at the
Estates, wa-s-•to--'rove-,-the-li-ne---=ta-be-planned_truth-the-linedea--of✓bard.-niri-g-taxpayers-
300 feet southto the town running along the backs of the with costs • of • moving
limits to addaesthetic'ally t� housing lots rather than on something. •. 'that ' was
a subdivision to be developed the street. technically sound now ; and
on the landthe line crosses Investigations into the would be in the future. Their
now: The original plan for the : expense •of - having the line best .offer was an ,80-20' split,
subdivision had most of, the moved prompted Suncoast to the town paying the smaller
• 2,600 feet of high voltage. line suggest a three way cost, share, and that met with
"on a street ``'al -tow anc'e but shat utg deal--a-m-ong tire—d',sapproval by the--m-ajerit
meant that a park planned for developer,, the town:and the • .of councillors. .
4
SUGAR 'N' SPICE
g1II.L SMILEY
PUC commissioners ex-
plained�- that '-they ._lad_ :no
capital for this type of project'
and that the line was ,fine -
where _it was, on a street
allowance. Decision .on •the.•
matter was tabled: .
Last week an Ontario
marketing manager prom-
pted .the .I?UC'• commission
to refuse to payany portion of
the costs pf nio-Kittlg the line..
••The "commission received a
letter from W:S. Taylor,
westernregion marketing
manager - from London
stating that the costs of
moving the line is strictly an
item for negotiation between
the,, commissionand the
subdivider. • Mr. Taylor •said
that Hydro's 'feeling was that
"since the line was only seven
years, . old and Wa-s con
structed ona street.allowance
.the subdivider should pay 100
percent of the costs of moving
it. • . ..
As well as suggesting the -
PUC -remove'. themselves.
frori::_sharing age costs,
Hydro maintained that there
was no point 'to moving the
line. Mr. Taylor' said that
there was no problem putting
the line on township land,
which ' it • would be if it were
moved, as long as the PUC.
Have you had the feeling in
the last couple of years that.
everybody and his brother,
and sister, is trying to rip you
off? I have. And I don't like it.
Perhaps it's because. of
inflation, but "I don't recall
any period in my life in this
country in which sb many
people. were ;pursuing the
duck -''so avidly, with .an
almost complete . disregard
for what they .produce in
return for that buck.
Resultis a • steady
deterioration,. in • service,
courtesy and integrity in the,
business. world. Perhaps. it's,
just a reflection, but the same
disintegration seems to- be
taking place in the social
world, •
Insolence and indifference
are becoming the trademarks
of the business world. '13ad
manners and•worse language
have become almost
obligatory in the•soci'al world.
I haven't the space to. deal
with ; both aspects in one
column, so just catalogue
a few typical examples of the
kind of -rip-off . and shabby
treatment that ire merely the
tip.of the iceberg. '
My wife ordered two pairs
of infant pyjamas from one of
our huge,' national ddepart-
ment. stores. The catalogue
priced them at $2.25 a pair:
Now' the catalogue did ;state
that prices quoted were only
guaranteed until a . certain
date.
The parcel• arrived a few
days: after • that, date. The
goods: were satisfactory:
`E -ah pair wasencased in the
manufacturer's plastic
package, . clearly labeled
$2.25. But the bill from the
department store was for
$2‘50 a pair.
' These had .obviously been
bought to sell at a good profit
for $2.25. Probably 100 per-'
cent mark-up. Suddenly they
cost $2.50. Chickenfeed, you
say? More like chicanery, if
you add up:'all those quarters
on a national basis and
multiply it by all the other
items boosted in price for no
reason at all except 'that the
department store . can
probably get away with it. '
My wife ordered .a caftan
from some outfit, which.
advertised' • satisfaction
guaranteed or your money
refunded: She ..ordered` one
down to her calves . and
received one down to her;
navel.. She sent it back and
asked for her money back.
Two weeks later, a form
lettersaid the company
would be happy' fo fill her
orderfor the right size.
Sometime. Only $14; but they
have . the money . and she
doesn't have the dress, and I
know what the outcome will
be. •
They will stiff arm her with
form letters,, inresponse to
her 'angry, passionate, or
pleading .inquiries, until she
gives up. Some day, the
shoddy thing will arrive,
designed for a lady midget or.
a -professional basket -ball
player.. .
Went to the city for winter
break. Stayed at a hotel we'd
_frequented' for years. Didn't
bother to get a reservation,
' after reading articles 'about
city hotels operating at little
over 50 percent capacity. ,
"What? You want a room..
Without.a reservation?"
"Yes" ..
"Well! How do you intend
..(continued on page 11)
216 37:; :
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SMOKED COOKED (SAVE 40e A LB.)
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HEADCHEESE 88c
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w. Home Dressed Inspetted' Meats at Wholesale Prigs . 1.
•
d®
'(continuedfroin page 4)
That Jimmy. Brown was
burned, .. '
He buckled -up and couldn't
jump, •
That is how he learned.
That auto driven carelessly;
Can kill you anyhow,
Jimmy went to heaven,
He needs no seat belt now:
:Drowning is an awful,death,
Now you dearld.man,•
Tell us quickly, tell us new,
Tell us if you -can.
An auto driven in the drink,
Could trap us anyhow,
Our chance would seem to be
much less, -
Buckled•in like now.
The children are all settled in,
Buckled in -their seat,
With • windows just a little
high
No place to put their feet.
Why can't we see. the sunny.
fields,
A cow, a horse or two?'
•Parliament has said it is law,.
And that is it -for you.
Please let me free the baby
cries.
Why must I stay tied? '
ovirtnment can't change
tGhoe rods,
You know they have their
pride.
In parliament those men are
bold,
So tell me dear old man,
. You know you can't enforce
this law
Explain it if you can?
We :know another law may
'pass
To help you clear this mess.--
' But don't you think another
law
Would surely bring distress?
To stop and search our cars at
will '
I'm sure that you will find
Resistance froth the common
folk,
• That would surely blow your
' mind, •
By . getting tough its r g
enough, .
',ou-could have yeuHr• tivay, "
Even now its rumored round,
That you might not be here to
stay.
Baby's word means more 'to
Ma
We hope you'll understand
A heritage of Rights has been,
A custom of this land. '
Policemen may enforce your.
The judge collect the fines
While people- driving down
the street •
Are`driven from their minds.
had Permissipn front tile, l'atitt
owner or road- author' ity.over
which the• line was .built: He
said the line would notserve a.
betterpurpose moved, saying
Hydro saw. • ' the southerly',
rout.Nas serving "absolutely
no advantage to the utility.".
Ken Hutchins, spottesman
for Suncoast, said his firrfi`
planned to• go ahead with the.•
subdivision' leaving'' the line
•where nt -is. - ' He• sa'id-:fie
subdivision plan -was in the
-stages of being finalized but
he had no ,idea how long it
would take: to clear all •hur-
dles.: - • •
Mr; Hutchins added that
She red tape had been delayed
several months until all�Fie
.questions about the line had
beenanswe;red.. .
"It's one of those things you
quietly put up with," he said.
`"To my way of thinking it
would have made it more
compatible -Jo move the line
than plan around it but we'll
haveto compromise."
medicine was able to do little.
to cut the toll of illness, which
caused a high rate of ab-
senteeism in schools, fac-
tories and"offices. -
It is also argued- that an
immunization program
should be aimed only at the
old, the young andbther high-
risk�gcoups�:It•would ,be well-_
to remember at:thispoint that
the 1918 pandemic killed men'
and women in their prime.-
The recruit at Fort.Dix whose
death was caused-. by ,in-
fluenza virus pneumonia and •w
from hose lungs' the swine
type virus was isolated was 19
years old..
Other'q'have ave been`
raised about: the. flu vaccine"
itself. This is.absiird: We have
: been' using flu vaccines for
more- than 30 years and side
effects, 'other than ::the oc-
casional :sore arm, are very
rare. The vaccine should not ''
-:be ..-given, to people who
develop . asthma -or hives
when exposed to eggs Ober
than that,.I know of no serious
contraindication. Infants 'and
young 'children also require
protection and can, be given
proportionately smaller
doses.
The military has been
routinely using flu vaccine
with great effectiveness
against viruses whichgaused
do not protect against it.
Are We sure swine flu is the
culprit?
One wa -,to find out would
be to wait and see. . •
Another way would be to
act on the chance that it
might occur and. takg.. the:
necessary precautions
...This is a disease that can'.be
serious and•even fatal:
Whether not it would kill as
many as it did'in 1918 or.
"only" as many -as in ' a
"normal " epidemic; it•seerns
to me prudent. to .safeguard:
ourhealth since we have the
means to do so;
We are dealing here with a
global :and _not .merely a.
national problen5•. As long as
ve. the possibility of a pandemic
exists prevention .is the goal.
The challenge to medical
scientists, as well as to: the
publico they serve, is to
achieve it together..
O\PN CANCER 'SO
, (:./-
<<T
(J
With strangle strap . across
her breast,
A lady feels confined.
A thought like that, I'm sure
dear Bill
Has never crossed your mind.
It hurts ' dear. Bill for. •us to .'.
think
That you did this alone.
We can neat see you as a King
Sitting on a throne. •
But Jimmy, who's your
helping hand?
Has helped 'you take your
'• stand.
And parliament has gone
along
Almost to a man.
It's time said Spence. and
Johnston' too,
To look behind the throne
.Bill was notthe onlyone,
freedom then was
He wasn't there alone. -
Cduld best interest hold the.
veil
They pulled- down , ov'r our
head?.
Our loss of
blamed
Yes blamed upon the dead.
•
Our men have died for
freedom sake,
On battlefields unknown,
bemocracy has been the, call,
Democracy alone:
,h'r,eedoin Bill is what we
know,
You may' have . thought it
dead,.
In parliament this may be so
But we're not purrikin heads.
S.u�rthy'S
Yew- You --
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