By Kim Komando, Extract of Kim Komando Show Electronic Newsletter – May 2, 2009
The H1N1 flu is cropping up throughout the world. It is easy to panic at times like this. We should all be concerned. But panic never helped anything. Instead, protect yourself. I’ve pulled together some sites to help.
Swine flu is nothing new. It has long affected pigs. Human cases have been much rarer. And deaths from the virus have been uncommon.
But we have heard a lot about swine flu recently. The World Health Organization has even considered raising its pandemic threat level.
At the time of writing, several victims in Mexico have died. And new cases are being reported regularly.
First, visit the CDC’s site. You’ll learn more about the swine flu. Tips will help you avoid contracting the illness. There’s also help in identifying symptoms.
Next, map the outbreaks. You’ll see if you need to take extra precautions, such as a face mask.
At Google Maps, you’ll see a swine flu map. Cases are plotted on the map. Clicking one of the stories reveals specifics about the case.
There’s also HealthMap. It plots disease outbreaks from the past 30 days. By default, it shows a variety of different diseases.
You can use the controls to restrict the results to swine flu. Or, you can see where other diseases are arising across the world.
HealthMap – www.healthmap.org
Swine Flu Maps (Google) – maps.google.com
CDC – www.cdc.gov/swineflu
Be careful when you click any online ads that mention the flu. They are likely a scam. In fact, you’re likely to start getting swine flu spam.
SPAMMERS READ THE NEWS, TOO
Spammers are already taking advantage of fears over a possible swine flu epidemic. This week, spammers began sending messages touting flu drugs.
The messages link to sites that sell bogus drugs. Or, the sites may simply steal your credit card information. The messages already account for more than 2 percent of all spam.
Watch out for messages that mention swine flu or drugs like Tamiflu (oseltamivir). You can bet future swine flu spam will link to malicious sites.
Spammers are constantly looking for new ways to trick you. Seizing on news stories is popular.
Copyright 2009 WestStar TalkRadio Network. Reprinted with permission. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written consent of WestStar TalkRadio Network. Visit Kim Komando and sign up for her free e-mail newsletters at: www.komando.com
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Related articles: KIM KOMANDO, SWINE FLU, HEALTHMAPS, GOOGLE MAPS, CDC, WESTSTAR
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