2009-05-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

The truth about swine flu and the reaction from Thai people

There are so many issues that are on the front pages of the newspapers these days, such as Hamburger Crisis, Thai political issue, etc. However, the hottest topic at the moment cannot be anything else but Swine flu, or what also known as 2009 H1N1. The news scares everybody since the flu can spread from human to human, and it has already spread to several continents throughout the world.

Thai people are scared to eat pork, due to the fact that it is called “swine” flu or “pig” flu. I have friends in University who told me that they are afraid to eat pork after the news of Swine flu outbreak. I am quite surprised that educated people like University students can have a wrong understanding about Swine flu. This is the inspiration for my survey.

Truth about Swine flu

“Despite its name, swine flu has nothing to do with pigs,” said Professor doctor Yong Poovarawan, a medical professor in pediatric hepatology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University and an expert on the subject about H5N1 avian influenza virus in Thailand. “The only reason why they call it “swine” or “pig” is because most contained genes related to pigs, but there are also parts that are from birds and even human. So basically, this new virus is a mixed between pigs, birds and human.”

Swine flu spreads between humans through coughing or sneezing and personal contacts. Swine flu cannot be spread from pork products, since the virus is not transmitted through food. The Swine flu in humans is most contagious during the first five days of the illness, but some people might take longer.

Although, many people misunderstand and think that they can get infected from any sick pig. However, the fact is that pigs get sick all the time. It is just like people get sick and the sickness will not spread to other animals. As I took a tour to Nakorn Pathom, the famous city for pigs Mr. Saipan, the owner of a pig farm in Nakorm Pathom showed me sick pigs in his farm. He also mentioned how normal it is for pigs to get sick; they just need some medication to get better. Therefore, it is absolutely normal to find a sick pig, and people cannot get infected from having contact with just any sick pig.

Flu death toll ‘less than feared’
According to the WHO’s website, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu has reached 1,893 across 23 countries. Mexico has 942 confirmed cases, including 29 deaths, the health agency said, and the United States has 642, with two deaths. It might sound scary, but the death rate is only 1.6 percent from the total cases.

However, the news has already made its impact. Travelers are canceling their travel plans. China, Russia and South Korea have banned imports of American pork, despite assurances that the flu does not spread through meat.

The protection of swine flu
Frequent hands washing with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizers can help prevent the flu, especially after contacts with other people. Although the current influenza vaccine is unlikely to provide protection against the new 2009 H1N1 or Swine flu, vaccines against the new strain are being developed and could ready for use as early as June 2009.

Reactions from Thai people

Before I started my survey, I think that Thai people would be scared of eating pork. Even university students, middle class employee and some workers I know think that they can get virus of Swine flu by being near pigs or consume pork products. Even the government changed the name of the swine flu to “Mexican flu” or “2009 H1N1 flu” people still remember and use the name “Swine flu” in a conversation. As I think about how many people in Thailand might have wrong misunderstanding about swine flu I figure that it will somehow affect the pork market.

However, once I did the survey, I found out that I was wrong. Swine flu did not have as much impact on the pork market as I have thought. I was surprise by the fact that many pork sellers said the pork sales is normal and almost every person I interviewed are not afraid to eat pork.

The funniest part after the survey finished is the reason that my interviewee gave. It is not because they have understanding that the flu does not transmitted from eating pork. They just think that they do not have to worry about it because it is too far away from Thailand. Although, they will start to worry about the flu once it spread near Thailand.

I feel sad by the results of my survey. Everybody knows about Swine flu from news and media, but they totally misunderstand the fact that the flu cannot be infected by consuming pork. Some people decided to avoid eating pork, but some were not afraid to eat pork because they think the problem happens too far away from them.

I feel sad about how Thai people do not care about the little details that is important to them. They did not pay attention to the news but only listen to what other people told them. The news mention everyday about how swine flu spread from human to human. They think that swine flu has the same concept as bird flu and ignore the issue since it does not related to them.

I was shocked by the result of my survey. I would never believe that people can make a rash assumption without knowing the actual fact if I had not experienced it myself. Thai people should give more importance to education. Government, parents, and teachers should encourage children to always have eager to learn by themselves.

Swine flu is a big topic and there is a chance that the flu may spread to Thailand. If it does it is necessary that people understand the truth about it and use the right protection for it will not affect the fresh meat market.

Tananya Suteerachai

2009-04-27T06:33:00.000-07:00