Swine flu panic in Turkey

last updated: 17 Nov 2009: 21:00

(Just heard that thousands of Turks already had swine flu and got over it. Met a friend yesterday who had recovered. Another TA friends is quarantine now but no body in panic really. She is treated, and she will be fine)

I did not have a single moment of panic, I declare. I do not know why. I was more worried with crimean congo hemorrhagic fever or bird flu. However, there is a low level panic feeling about swine flu now here in Istanbul, too. What is promising is that many ordinary people are in fact following authorities and try to take measures as much as they could. They are not fatalistic and they sure are not as indifferent as I am.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband (L) reacts as he answers a question about H1N1 flu shots during a joint news conference with Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs and Chief EU Negotiator Egemen Bagis in Istanbul November 4, 2009.REUTERS/Murad Sezer

@ haha.nu: Swine flu time

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The suspicious Turkish kiss: swine flu and the seeds of fear by SAADET YILMAZ

Nowadays we, the brave and noble-blooded Turkish people, are afraid of everything under the sun. Avian flu, swine flu, ticks. Yes, our bodies do not deserve to die because of a sickness that spreads through the public.

In this photo released by Turkey’s Health Ministry, a health worker administers a swine flu vaccine to a colleague in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. Turkey on Monday began vaccinating vulnerable groups against swine flu, starting with health workers and Muslim pilgrims preparing to travel to Mecca for the annual hajj. (AP Photo/Health Ministry)

No kissing, Turks told after first death from H1N1 | Reuters

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s health minister urged Turks to avoid kissing or handshaking for the next five months to contain the spread of H1N1, newspapers said Tuesday, after Turkey reported its first known death from the flu virus.”

Kiss, shake hands or hug