General

Family “grounded” by doc over swine flu

GP’s advice to stay home was wrong, say public health officials, as H1N1 hysteria takes hold in Nova Scotia

There’s a fine line between precaution and panic, but when it comes to swine
flu, who knows where it lies? Consider the case of the Boyd family of
Herring Cove, N.S., all four members of which quarantined themselves behind
closed doors for a week after 17-year-old Brendan Boyd was diagnosed with
the virus. They did so on the advice of their family doctor, but the GP’s
message contradicts that of provincial public health officials, who insist
that only people diagnosed with H1N1 need to stay home from work and school.
It also highlights the confusion in the minds of many Canadians—physicians
included—about the best way to keep the germ from spreading. “We’ve
repeatedly told doctors that there’s no reason to quarantine well
individuals,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1149625.html

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