>>>>>>>>>>>>As of this morning - The swine flu is officially a pandemic. Still, it doesn't seem like much, but it is capable of expansion into the population almost exponentially. Never forget that there are too many humans on the planet and mother nature shall not tollerate over population. The swine flu may come to nothing, but eventually there will be something in our future that will cull a lot of people from the herd.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>I am surprised that it wasn't declared as such previously. Here in the U.S., if you call the doctor because you have the flu, you are told to not come in unless you have trouble breathing, get dehydrated, have a high fever for greater than 72 hours, or experience anything you consider to be a medical emergency. That is done to prevent spreading of the flu virus, but it also means that we do not have accurate counts here on how many swine flu cases there really are.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Frankly, I have never called to doctor when I have fly symptoms. To be precise I got them few times already during this 'pandemics' :). OTOH, we have full assortment of medications at home.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Are you self employed? Some companies require a doctor's note if you are out of work for more than 1-2 days.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I have never been out of work (both 1099 and W2) more than 1-2 days, i.e. excluding vacations. In many cases I work with flu. It is not the worst thing.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>No, but when you work in a building with others, going to work with the flu spreads the illness. What is a minor inconvenience to you, may develop into a true emergency in someone else.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Is it not the price for living in civilized society? :)
>>>>>>If you go to work you have to accept some kind of risk, not a huge one; and common sense should be helpful, i.e. it is fine as long as no one tries to poison me in deliberate way :).
>>>>>>It reminds me one silly episode happened to me during first days of this 'pandemics'. I have seasonal allergy with symptoms probably quite similar to incurable flu :). When I went to work one morning one moron in the same subway car started yelling that I cannot be on the same train with him because his priceless health may suffer in the most dramatic way. I was in peaceful mode, so I tried to explain him the situation, but he was really restless so at the end (after 20 seconds) I had to tell him to shut up. It worked and it shows that many diseases can be treated in old-fashionable way. Viva Mason!
>>>>>
>>>>>That behavior was in direct contradiction to the CDC's recommendation...
>>>>
>>>>I tend to believe that criminal code is quite sufficient for daily human discourse; i.e. additional compliance would mean direct assault on privacy rights. Btw, what is CDC?
>>>
>>>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
>>>http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/disease.htm
>>>
>>>See what you can do to stay healthy:
>>>http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
>>>Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
>>
>>Do I have to comply?
>
>No, you don't, but going to work when you're infectious is incredibly self-centered.
>
>Tamar

Every person is infectious. Some even emit carbon dioxide, pure poison.
Btw, I gave a real example of subway episode. Did my allergy (non-infectious) justify that moron yelling at me? Was it 'self-centered'?