Public Health Nurse Ruth-Ann Ogilvy tells Bayshore Broadcasting News that the flu is highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat and lungs.
Symptoms include fever, sore throat, chills, dry cough, headache, muscle aches and fatigue.
Ogilvy points out that influenza presents an very high risk to the elderly and people with chronic health issues.
She advises that if you catch the flu the symptoms can often hang on for up to a couple of weeks but typically they last for two to seven days.
Ogilvy mentions a few tips to help you avoid contracting influenza including — coughing into your sleeve, frequently cleaning surfaces you often touch, and staying home if you’re sick.
Flu shots are available through the Huron County Health Unit, your family doctor and pharmacies across the County.
As scientists continue to look for the source, and prevention methods, to treat Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the virus has spread again, to a family of three in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which includes a pregnant mother who reportedly died after giving birth. Her death is the third in the past two weeks.
The family consisted of a pregnant mother and father, as well as their 8-year-old son. The earliest reported onset of illness was on Nov. 15, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Although the mother died soon after giving birth via C-section, the father, who was in critical condition has now stabilized — their son is also in stable condition, and only had mild respiratory symptoms upon being admitted to the hospital, according to The National.
The virus, known as MERS-CoV (coronavirus), spreads through contact with other people who are ill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, the family had “no travel history, no contact with a known confirmed case, and no history of contact with animals,” WHO wrote, making this particular case especially mysterious. In the meantime, the 8-year-old boy is being kept in hospital isolation, and close contacts with the family, the newborn baby — who is healthy — and health care workers are being monitored.
The mother’s death comes amid the deaths of two other people who had the illness, both of whom were from Qatar. There have been a total of 163 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection, with 70 such cases ending in death. Indications of MERS include severe acute respiratory illness, characterized by shortness of breath, fever, and coughing, according to the CDC, and many people who experience these symptoms are at risk of death.
WHO also announced that its advisory panel, known as the emergency committee, would meet on Wednesday to discuss the state of the outbreak now that the annual Hajj — a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia — had come to an end. A recent WHO investigation into the possible animal sources of the virus had led to three camels in Qatar, adding to previous evidence that they are the source — a preliminary study from August found that the virus could be circulating among them.
Junction, UT – 9 km (6 miles) WSW (250 degrees)
Kingston, UT – 12 km (7 miles) W (271 degrees)
Marysvale, UT – 28 km (17 miles) SSW (196 degrees)
Caliente, NV – 204 km (126 miles) ENE (70 degrees)
MAGNITUDE 4.3 – BANDA SEA
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 667 km N of Dili, East Timor / pop: 150,000 / local time: 07:06:22.8 2013-12-04
296 km NE of Kendari, Indonesia / pop: 195,006 / local time: 06:06:22.8 2013-12-04
286 km SE of Luwuk, Indonesia / pop: 47,778 / local time: 06:06:22.8 2013-12-04
MAGNITUDE 5.3 – VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 1007 km N of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands / pop: 48,220 / local time: 08:01:16.0 2013-12-04
1342 km S of Tokyo, Japan / pop: 8,336,599 / local time: 07:01:16.0 2013-12-04
2158 km SE of Seoul, South Korea / pop: 10,349,312 / local time: 07:01:16.0 2013-12-04
Power went off in Caracas and other cities around the country soon after 8 p.m. local time (0030 GMT), to the intense annoyance of residents and commuters.
“I feel so frustrated, angry and impotent,” said sales adviser Aneudys Acosta, 29, trudging through the rain along a street in the capital after having to leave the disrupted underground transport system.
“I live far away and here I am stuck under the rain. Something’s going wrong that they’re not sorting out. The government needs a Plan B. This is just not normal.”
Monday’s outage appeared similar to a massive September 5 blackout that was one of the worst in the South American OPEC member’s history.
Lawrence Parkin from Jacksdale, Nottinghamshire said he was woken in the night by a tile falling from his roof.
In the morning he found large chunks of rock scattered around his front garden.
Experts at Nottingham University said he had possibly been hit by the remains of an iron rich meteorite. The pieces are now being sent to a London museum for further verification.
Kamchatkan Shiveluch Volcano Spews Ash 9km High
The Shiveluch Volcano erupting in Kamchatka has spewed ash nine kilometers high, the Kamchatkan territorial emergency situations department reported on Tuesday. No ashfall has been reported from towns nearby
“The volcanic event occurred on Tuesday afternoon. The ash cloud stretched northwest, bypassing populated areas,” the report said.
No ashfall has been reported from towns nearby, it added.
Nevertheless, rescuers advised tour operators to avoid paths around the volcano, for which a red alert has been issued.
Shiveluch is the northernmost active volcano of Kamchatka situated 45 kilometers away from the town of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsky district with a population of approximately 5,000.
It is also one of the largest Kamchatkan volcanoes. Shiveluch became active in May 2009 and got a fissure that is almost 30 meters deep in its dome.
MAGNITUDE 4.0 DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
Subject To Change
Depth: 28 km
Distances: 397 km SE of Athens, Greece / pop: 729,137 / local time: 18:05:07.0 2013-12-03
176 km E of Irákleion, Greece / pop: 137,154 / local time: 18:05:07.0 2013-12-03
130 km E of Ágios Nikólaos, Greece / pop: 10,799 / local time: 18:05:07.0 2013-12-03
19 km NW of Kárpathos, Greece / pop: 2,243 / local time: 18:05:07.0 2013-12-03
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