SARS Memories Haunt Hong Kong as Flu Outbreak Closes Schools

[flashl]

Source: Bloomberg

March 14 (Bloomberg) -- When Louis Wong came home from work earlier this week his wife brushed aside his attempt to hug their 2-year-old son and sent him straight to the shower.

Hong Kong is on flu alert after the unexplained deaths of four young children with flu-like symptoms. Worried residents are donning surgical masks, flooding hospital waiting rooms and buying up supplies of antibacterial soap as they remember the SARS outbreak that killed 299 people five years ago.

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On Thursday, Hong Kong shut all kindergartens and primary schools, affecting more than 500,000 children. The schools will remain closed through March 28, the end of a scheduled Easter holiday break.

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In addition to closing schools, the government yesterday named Yuen Kwok-yung, a University of Hong Kong microbiologist who helped discover the cause of the SARS outbreak, to head a panel charged with finding whether flu strains are mutating into a more lethal form.

Bloomberg

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aAUdWwR6Aq_I&refer=news

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Here in the U.S. we view the spread of the flu differently. The increase in the flu outbreak is measured in profit.

Flu Resurgence Spurs Profit Gains at Roche, Glaxo

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- The most severe late-blooming influenza season in a decade is increasing health spending and spurring unexpected earnings growth for flu-remedy makers Roche Holding AG, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and AstraZeneca Plc.
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The jump in flu cases is happening because this year's vaccine is effective against fewer than half the strains infecting people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. By mid-February, 49 states had "widespread'' seasonal flu cases compared with none at the beginning of the year, the CDC said. Wellpoint Inc., the second- largest U.S. health insurer, said this week that higher flu incidence among the elderly was contributing to a lower 2008 earnings forecast.

"This will be the strongest season we have had for Tamiflu since we launched it in 1999," said Mike McGuire, vice president of anti-infectives at Roche, in a phone interview. "We've seen a million prescriptions over the past two weeks."

[Mojorabbit]

1. I've been following the story closely

One of the children had two types of flu at the same time.
And yes, our priorities are screwed up.