The overhyped Influenza A H1N1

swine flu mask

I flew back to Sibu on Saturday and was surprised to see the sheer amount of people donning masks at the airport. I presume this is to avoid getting infected with H1N1 but I find the lack of basic knowledge about the efficacy of face masks appalling.

You can’t prevent someone from passing H1N1 to you by wearing these. They are perfectly healthy people, mind. It’s more about not transmitting it to others by containing particles when you sneeze or cough.

Either way, it’s the wrong kind of mask. This kind won’t make an iota of difference.

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27 thoughts on “The overhyped Influenza A H1N1”

  1. oh great.. just when i planned to wear a mask for my sunday flight.
    actually normal surgical mask will do (according to the BCP experts) because the N95 mask (though better protection) will suffocate you within 2 hrs…
    p/s: sometimes it’s the psychological effects that is most important πŸ˜‰

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  2. coincidentally , this topic came out on the Star today. The wearing of mask can prevent you from getting infected with H1N1, with one condition tho’. That is , you must be very sure your mask is clean. So, those who take it off and then put in their bag or smtg and the next minute wear it again, it just wont work because dust/bacteria/germs would be on the mask and it would make it worse because literally you’re sniffing a dirty air (through your dirty mask). Hehe.

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  3. HuaiBin,
    Hey, I saw you at MWR. I’m the girl who helped you snap photo for you and TianChad.
    Actually i didnt recognize you! I think the reason is your t-shirt is not thorn that day? HAHAHA…
    Ok, next time yumcha! I will teman u with my bedroom look..so that you wont feel awkward!
    Btw, i’d like to think the girl has bad breath! (refering to the post)

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  4. well…the star reporter is wrong then. the problems lies with virus particles carried in aerosol form. only way to filter out virus particles is using expensive grade HEPA filters even that is only abouit 99% if im not wrong. n95 is certified to filter out 99% as well but only condition is needs to be in tip top condition. not wet from your breathing. so 1 or 2 hours flight is ok but still no guarantee. futhurmore the reason for it to suffocate you is to ensure most of the air is filtered air. the normal surgery mask the aerosol droplets just come in through the sides. anyway its still useless because it does not filter aerosol and woulndt retain its meagre filtration efficiently more than a few minutes
    anyway its not the air droplets that you should worry about. but the virus particles on surfaces like tables, door knobs(especially on the aircraft),on the MAS magazines, chairs in the lounge waiting area, buses etc because the virus particles survive on those surfaces for 6 hours. therefore the primary form of transmission is through that method. which is why the alcohol hand washes is the primary method to prevent it. masks are deemed unnecessary unless u carry the virus.
    anyway this is a case of :if it makes them feel any better then they can wear it.

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  5. Hahah! Strange.. Is it that bad in Sarawak? Melburnians are totally unfazed despite the high number of people falling ill from H1N1. So far, since the outbreak, I think I’ve only seen 4 people wearing masks.

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  6. Adui, only the Asian are the ones wearing mask. Look at all the guai lo at the airport/plane, they don’t even bother! And its just a flu for the love of God.
    SARS I understand la, swine flu, nothing much to worry about lah.

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  7. You’re back in Sibu? Still around?…I thought I saw your red undies hanging on the laundry line when I drove past your house today! ROTFLMAO!!! So many of them! Gee whiz! How many do you use a day?

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  8. yuetmui: Hmm…yeah I guess it does have some psychological placebo type value. πŸ˜‰
    chefmel: Interesting…I thought the particles are too small to be filtered by these type of masks. πŸ™‚
    PJ Old Towner: Haha!
    MsXeRoZ: Oh, I remember dy! Okay, let’s go yumcha someday! πŸ™‚
    My number is 016 888 2069. Cheers! πŸ™‚
    Sexythang: Great explaination, my friend. πŸ™‚
    ju: This is in KL. No one actually cares in Sarawak. I saw no one wearing masks on the inbound (to KL) flight. πŸ™‚
    Marlboro Guy: Heh! I share the same sentiments. πŸ™‚
    foodcrazee aka mike: LOL!
    Shirley Snow: Yeah, but still the mortality rate from H1N1 is very very low. πŸ™‚
    eiling: Yup! That’s what these masks are for actually. πŸ™‚
    …we used to use them to filter large particles in…er, particleboard factories. Serious. Same masks.
    Jeff: Hahaha! OMG that got me laughing out loud. Good one mate. πŸ™‚
    Rosiie: Okay. πŸ™‚
    suituapui: I’m back in KL now. Red undies? ALL my undies are red undies now. Haha!
    I don’t have any other colors anymore. Red is the new black! πŸ˜‰

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  9. What a bunch of over hyped shit. N1 H1 flu virus. just wash your hands, before cooking or eating. In a nation of 350 million, 60 dead, and 1 thousand sick, most get bettter. ( it is like regular influenza) anint much,even with a compromised immune system. Tom

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  10. its called swine(pig) flu , over here,but jezz, it aint no worse than regular flu. ( by the way, antibotics do not work on viruses, just drink alot of liquids , (tea, or OJ. not beer,
    πŸ˜‰ and some chicken soup. good for everyone, excecpt the chicken, I guess. tom

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  11. tom r: I totally agree buddy. Too much ado over nothing. I’m still sick (sniffles, runny nose, sore throat etc) but I still can manage and be productive at work and go out for social events and such. I don’t believe in taking sick leave unless I have a fever. The two reasons I’ll take sick leave is only if I have fever or food poisoning (coz the latter really sucks).
    God bless, my friend. πŸ™‚

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  12. HB, so far 6 death in California and young people. Pregnant women are helpless from H1N1. In Hawaii 2 deaths 20 year old and 30 year old males. Not like SCARR it taking life of young people yet not report of older people dying from it. 350 death in U.S..

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  13. Vickie: Yeah, but still the mortality rate is very low. They even have a theory here about why older folks are not dying from H1N1 – they have been exposed to a similar Influenza A virus back in the days.

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  14. you see the sheer amount of people donning masks at the airport? i only see one in the picture. i think it’s not so much of the flu, it’s really a bad haze rather in sibu. and on the other point, not everyone is as healthy as those who think they are lucky despite the death toll due to influenza are rising.

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