5 Ways to Protect Yourself (and Others) from Swine Flu
Experts say that the steps you should take to shield yourself from swine flu are not much different than those you might take to ward off seasonal flu.
1. Don't touch your face
Above all, keep your hands away from your eyes, mouth and nose, all of which serve as pathways for the virus to enter your respiratory tract, says Allison Aiello, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor。
2. Wash your hands
If you must touch your face, scrub your hands, getting under the fingernails and inside all crevices, for 20 to 30 seconds with hot soap and water beforehand, Aiello says. "In addition to dislodging dirt that may contain virus particles, soaps contain surfactants [the primary components of detergents] which can damage the lipid [fat] protecting virus particles," she explains. Soap should therefore be effective against all flu viruses。
3. Use a hand sanitizer
No sink nearby? Then use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, Aiello advises. About a quarter-size spot, rubbed all over the hands until the sanitizer evaporates (usually 10 to 15 seconds)， should do it. Alcohol can inactivate viruses by destroying the structure of their proteins, she notes。
4. Cover your nose and mouth
When someone sneezes or coughs, liquid droplets packing flu viruses can travel as far as three feet (one meter) through the air and descend on your nose or mouth, so it's best to maintain at least an arm's-length distance when talking to someone who shows signs of infection, says Louise Dembry, director of epidemiology at Yale–New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. And to protect others, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and clean your hands afterward, she says, noting that viruses can remain infectious for hours, if not longer, when they linger on the skin or other surfaces such as keyboards and subway poles。
5. Consider buying a mask in case you need it in the future
From press photos, it seems that Mexico's entire population has donned surgical masks, but the verdict is still out on how effective they are in stemming the spread of flu, according to Aiello. Some research suggests that masks—either the surgical variety or respirators called N95's specially designed to filter out water droplets containing viruses—reduce the risk of contracting the flu or other respiratory pathogens by as much as 80 percent, but research by Aiello's team suggests that masks do little unless used in conjunction with diligent hand washing。
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is "extremely limited" data on the effectiveness of face masks and respirators for blocking flu spread in communities. The agency suggests, however, that people consider using them when it's impossible to avoid "crowded settings or close contact with others" in areas where swine flu transmission has been confirmed: face masks for crowded places and respirators for situations that involve close contact with people who have respiratory infections (caring for a sick family member, for example)。
面对猪流感，保护你自己(以及别人)的5种方法
专家们说防止猪流感的方法和防止季节性流感的方法没有很大的差别。
1.不要触摸你的脸
Allison Aiello说，首先，不要用手摸你的眼睛、嘴以及鼻子，这些都容易使病毒进入你的呼吸道。Allison Aiello是位于安娜堡的密歇根大学公共健康学院(University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor)的一名流行病学专家。
2. 勤洗手
Aiello说，如果你必须接触脸的话，那么在这之前，你需要用香皂和热水搓洗你的手，把你的手指甲以及所有的指甲缝在热水中洗20到30秒。Aiello解释说： “香皂除了能把可能含有病毒颗粒的尘土洗掉外，因为香皂中还含有表面活性剂(洗衣粉的主要成分)，它还能破环保护病毒颗粒的类脂层。”因而香皂对于所有的流感病毒都是有效的。
3.使用洗手液
就近没有洗手池？Aiello建议说，那么就使用含酒精的洗手液。把洗手液到一些到手上，大约25分硬币那样的面积，然后搓满全手，直到洗手液蒸发掉(通常需10到15秒)，这个方法一般都奏效。Aiello解释说，酒精通过破环病毒蛋白质的结构，从而使病毒失去活性。
4.遮住你的鼻子和嘴
当一个人打喷嚏或者咳嗽的时候，含有流感病毒的小液滴能在空气中传播3英尺(一米)，从而降落到你的鼻子或者嘴上，所以，来自康涅狄格州纽黑文的耶鲁大学医院(Yale–New Haven Hospital in Connecticut)的流行病学主任Louise Dembry说，当和有感染迹象的人交谈的时候，最好保持一臂远的距离。另外为了保护其他人，当你自己咳嗽或者打喷嚏的时候，用纸巾遮住你的嘴和鼻子，打完喷嚏和咳嗽后，需要洗手。当病毒停留在皮肤或者其它表面上的时候，比如键盘以及地铁的扶手柱，病毒在几个小时内，甚至更长时间内，仍具有传染力。
5.考虑买一个口罩以防万一你用得着
从媒体的图片上看，好像墨西哥的全国人民都戴上了手术口罩，不过根据Aiello的观点，口罩对抑制流感传播的有效性仍然没有定论。有些研究表明口罩---不管是手术用口罩还是名为N95's的专门用于过滤掉含病毒水滴的防毒口罩---能减少感染流感或者其它呼吸性病原体的风险达80%，但是Aiello的研究小组的研究表明，如果不经常洗手，戴口罩几乎不起作用。
根据美国疾病控制与防治中心(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)的说法，面罩和防毒口罩对阻止流感在社区中传播的有效性的数据“非常有限”。不过，该中心建议，在猪流感传播已经确认的地区，如果我们不能避免“拥挤的环境或者和其他人紧密接触”，我们还是要使用面罩和防毒口罩：在拥挤的地方使用面罩，需要与患有呼吸道感染的人近距离接触时候戴防毒口罩(比如照顾家庭中的病患)。作者: 春色无边 时间: 2009-5-26 10:37:17