Tagalog used in US to warn against spread of swine flu
CHICAGO – Using the fastest way and largest reach to warn the public, the United States National Library of Medicine based in Bethesda, Maryland, the world’s largest medical library, used 17 languages, including Filipino (Tagalog), in issuing an advisory on how to avoid the swine flu (influenza) outbreak.
The other languages used by the US health officials, who declared a public health emergency Sunday (April 26), are Arabic, American Sign Language, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Hmong (pronounced Mong), Japanese, Khmer, Somali, Spanish, French, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Ukranian and Vietnamese.
Filipino-Americans constitute the second biggest Asian-American population in the United States, next to Chinese-Americans.
According to Medicine Plus, there are approximately 1.2 million Filipinos in the United States who speak Tagalog. [See: Avoid beso-beso, crowds in Mexico, Pinoys told]
The advisory circulated by Jennifer M. Kons, outreach and interpretation project assistant of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, among the Asian-American community organizations, quoted Medicine Plus on the basic hygiene information related to Germs and Hygiene to avoid and prevention of the swine flu virus.
The Medicine Plus is posting the information as a service to the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Health officials had earlier clarified that the virus cannot be transmitted from eating pork. [See: What scare? TIME goes ga-ga over RP's lechon]
According to the advisory, quoting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in order to “stop the spread of germs that make and others sick," everybody should cover his or her mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
Or they should cough or sneeze into their upper sleeve, not in their hands. And he/she should put the used tissue in the wastebasket.
And everybody might be asked to put on a surgical mask to protect others.
Then, afterward, they should wash their hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds or clean their hands with alcohol-based hand cleaner. If using a gel, rub the gel in the hands until they are dry. The gel doesn’t need water to work; the alcohol in the gel kills germs that cause colds and flu.
It said when washing hands with soap and warm water, the 15 to 20 seconds to do it is usually the same time to sing the “Happy Birthday" twice.
The advisory said illnesses like colds and flu are spread from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes called “droplet spread."
This happens when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air and are deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby.
Sometimes, germs also can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk and then touches his or her own eyes, mouth or nose before washing his or her hands.
Usually some viruses and bacteria can live two hours or longer on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs and desks.
In school, children should be taught to practice healthy habits “because germs spread, especially at school."
The flu has caused high rates of absenteeism among students and staff in this country’s 119,000 schools. Nearly 22 million school days are lost each year to the common cold alone. When children practice healthy habits, they miss fewer days of school.
Approximately one-fifth of the US population attends or works in schools. Students need to get plenty of sleep and physical activity, drink water, and eat good food to help them stay healthy in the winter and all year.
Illnesses like the flu and colds are caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. The flu and colds are usually spread from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Aside from covering mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing and cleaning hands often, everybody should avoid touching his/her eyes, nose or mouth. Anybody, who is sick, should stay at home and check with a health care provider when needed and practice other good health habits.
Common symptoms of the flu include: fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, and nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (much more common among children and adults). - GMANews.TV
The other languages used by the US health officials, who declared a public health emergency Sunday (April 26), are Arabic, American Sign Language, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Hmong (pronounced Mong), Japanese, Khmer, Somali, Spanish, French, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Ukranian and Vietnamese.
Filipino-Americans constitute the second biggest Asian-American population in the United States, next to Chinese-Americans.
According to Medicine Plus, there are approximately 1.2 million Filipinos in the United States who speak Tagalog. [See: Avoid beso-beso, crowds in Mexico, Pinoys told]
The advisory circulated by Jennifer M. Kons, outreach and interpretation project assistant of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, among the Asian-American community organizations, quoted Medicine Plus on the basic hygiene information related to Germs and Hygiene to avoid and prevention of the swine flu virus.
The Medicine Plus is posting the information as a service to the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Health officials had earlier clarified that the virus cannot be transmitted from eating pork. [See: What scare? TIME goes ga-ga over RP's lechon]
According to the advisory, quoting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in order to “stop the spread of germs that make and others sick," everybody should cover his or her mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
Or they should cough or sneeze into their upper sleeve, not in their hands. And he/she should put the used tissue in the wastebasket.
And everybody might be asked to put on a surgical mask to protect others.
Then, afterward, they should wash their hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds or clean their hands with alcohol-based hand cleaner. If using a gel, rub the gel in the hands until they are dry. The gel doesn’t need water to work; the alcohol in the gel kills germs that cause colds and flu.
It said when washing hands with soap and warm water, the 15 to 20 seconds to do it is usually the same time to sing the “Happy Birthday" twice.
The advisory said illnesses like colds and flu are spread from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes called “droplet spread."
This happens when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air and are deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby.
Sometimes, germs also can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk and then touches his or her own eyes, mouth or nose before washing his or her hands.
Usually some viruses and bacteria can live two hours or longer on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs and desks.
In school, children should be taught to practice healthy habits “because germs spread, especially at school."
The flu has caused high rates of absenteeism among students and staff in this country’s 119,000 schools. Nearly 22 million school days are lost each year to the common cold alone. When children practice healthy habits, they miss fewer days of school.
Approximately one-fifth of the US population attends or works in schools. Students need to get plenty of sleep and physical activity, drink water, and eat good food to help them stay healthy in the winter and all year.
Illnesses like the flu and colds are caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. The flu and colds are usually spread from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Aside from covering mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing and cleaning hands often, everybody should avoid touching his/her eyes, nose or mouth. Anybody, who is sick, should stay at home and check with a health care provider when needed and practice other good health habits.
Common symptoms of the flu include: fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, and nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (much more common among children and adults). - GMANews.TV
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