A flu epidemic

SAN FRANCISCO – California is apparently Ground Zero of a flu epidemic that has been filling up hospital emergency rooms over the past two weeks. Only my constant prayers to be spared from catching the bug is keeping me going.

Fear of being contaminated with the H3N2 flu virus has also kept me pretty paranoid about crowds and shaking people’s hands. Heavy doses of Vitamin C, Vitamin D3 and Zinc, as recommended by my doctor back home to boost immunity, are also helping me cope with the fear. A bottle of hand sanitizer and constant visits to the restroom to wash hands appear to be the only real defense against this year’s flu virus strain.

I am not sure getting a flu vaccine will help. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) has admitted that the current flu vaccine is at best just 30 percent effective against the H3N2 flu strain that is causing all the misery these days.

Dr. Daniel B. Jernigan from the CDC, told the morning show, Good Morning America that indeed, a dangerous flu virus has been spreading rapidly across the US, escalating flu season earlier than usual, and to near-epidemic levels.

Dr. Jernigan, director of the Influenza Division in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at CDC, told GMA that this year’s flu cycle has included more cases of the H3N2 strain of the virus, influenza A, which is usually more severe and difficult to contain.

“Whenever [H3N2] shows up, it causes lots of disease, lots of hospitalizations, lots of cases and lots of deaths,” he said. H3N2 had not been as prevalent over the past couple of years.

He blames this on weather conditions, as well as holiday travel. “The virus was able to start circulating… when folks went home for Thanksgiving or they went home for Christmas, they were able to transmit it to the folks that they’re with. Because of that, it’s able to circulate quickly.”

It is easy to suspect a connection between the unusually cold weather and the rise in flu related cases. My son and one of my daughters came down with a bad cold and cough after the Christmas holidays but mercifully not the flu.

But it is easy to be scared. A 21-year old bodybuilder who was otherwise in the pink of health just died after catching the flu. If that is so, imagine how vulnerable a senior citizen over 65 can be.

Already, one flu medication, Tamiflu, has been experiencing a shortage in California. Tamiflu is an antiviral drug that shortens the time a patient suffers the flu symptoms if taken during the first two days of infection. Hopefully, I don’t have to use the Tamiflu I brought with me for this trip.

The weird weather being experienced in North America contributed to the epidemic. It is cold and rainy where I am in the Bay Area. But I am happy not to be in New York or anywhere in the northeast where a “bomb cyclone” of heavy snowfall and extremely cold temperatures caused the misery index to rise to historic levels.

The unusually extreme cold winter is making President Trump look silly to pooh pooh claims of global warming. New York Times columnist David Leonhardt reports Americans are getting more anxious about climate change.

The increasing frequency of extreme weather has made climate change harder to ignore. Last year was apparently the worst year for disasters in the US. Major weather events caused $306 billion worth of damage in the United States last year, with floods, wildfires, tornadoes and, of course, three big hurricanes all contributing to the toll.

Some people are saying the cold spell disproves global warming claims. But scientists say what is happening proves rising global temperature.

With global warming, the jet stream, that river of air in the upper atmosphere, becomes wavier as it races from regions of warmth to those that are cold. It’s the atmosphere’s way of balancing temperature differences.

A science website explains that “sometimes, when this river of air snakes too far south, it can drag cold air with it. That’s how a chunk of Arctic air managed to sneak all the way down to the Gulf Coast…

“When a jet stream slows, it will also tend to meander more. Then it gets wavy and wonky. And that means a normally northerly flowing stream of cold air might detour into the south, dumping unexpected frozen precipitation along the way...

“When the jet stream gets wavy, it’s easier for pockets of cold Canadian air to slosh southward. That cold air piles up in the troughs of jet stream waves. Therefore, a wavier pattern can yield sporadic bursts of cold air, even in the deep south.

“As oceans warm, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will only rise. And that will feed more moisture into these arctic outbreaks that now can turn into snow.”

Ah, this year’s apostolic mission had been good insofar as bonding with the apos is concerned. But I didn’t count on severe cold weather and a flu epidemic.

It just makes one realize that boasting about having one’s fingers on the nuclear button doesn’t seem as impressive as tackling real problems facing humanity like killer epidemics and a Mother Nature that is fighting back from years of human abuse.

And yes, America may still be the world’s number one superpower but its officials are as inept as our bureaucrats in running airports. That nightmare in New York’s JFK International is a good example of failure.

Last week, a heavy snowstorm, plus the drama of a busted main water pipe at JFK, kept passengers inside their planes for over eight hours. It seems airport authorities had no contingency plans. That can be normally expected only at airports like NAIA.

Damn politicians. Then again we elected them so we are just suffering the consequences of bad choices all around.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.