I wonder if virologists have a PR or media company to field & organise into an orderly queue all the requests for interviews that they are getting about the flu (maybe) pandemic
The ones I have heard (all on radio of course) have been doing a terrific job, all able to speak succinctly without waffle or blinding technicalities.
I am left with one question, about the slightly surprising advice to keep washing your hands. We are used to that message as a way of preventing the spread of tummy bugs, but we always used to be told that Coughs & sneezes spread diseases
For somebody who is out of the house for large parts of every day, without the benefit of office or workplace, I rely on public provision, which does not always run to reliable washing or – (even more importantly for someone with Raynauds disease) – drying facilities. So I always have a small bottle of anti-bacterial hand rub in my bag (like in hospital) in case of need
Not much use against a virus, so is there any point in using it frequently as a substitute for washing? Especially as it is not impossible that there may be people just returned from Mexico on our bus?
More importantly - could using it actually do harm?
And what is the safe way of disposing of the used tissues which cover up our sneezes?
