News and commentary on Religion, especially Southern religion.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Due swine flu caution

H1N1 prevention is a responsibility we all share, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reminds us. One many religious organizations are taking just as seriously as they should by advising and implementing sound practices.

David Walters' roundup of measures being taken by church organizations is a catalog of the worthwhile. Not, as he unfortunately describes it, "anxiety."

Where the disease is already active, like Texas, it is well-advised to cancel gatherings likely to result in its spread.

Clear, well-written, scientifically accurate information about what to do individually is available at Flu Wiki, where you can also dig in there and learn the fundametal science of flu epidemics and much more.

For the skeptical, Aetiology, an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology who writes well, explains the World Health Organization's pandemic scale is and why this is no time to panic but certainly not to scoff. The virus is a genetic novelty to which we all apparently lack natural immunity.

As a result, choosing them carefully for effectiveness, unusual precautions are in order.