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Health & Fitness

In Flew Enza

Thoughts and sources on our current epidemic.

"I had a little bird and its name was Enza

I opened the window, and in flew Enza"

          — Childrens jump rope rhyme, circa 1918

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Yes, it's that time of the year and the Bay Area seems to be suffering from a visitation from Enza and her friends. 

Actually, we have two nasty guests: influenza and norovirus (or stomach flu).  Friends who have recently recovered from norovirus tell me that they would have preferred influenza.

Find out what's happening in Half Moon Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We at the Half Moon Bay Library do have some resources to get the low down on both of these illnesses. 

On our website there's a link to Medline which has information on both flu and norovirus. We also have other resources as well, including the DVD "Resisting the Flu: How to Minimize Your Risk.

For those looking for a historical perspective on just how bad all this could be, one could look back to the pandemic of 1918, the source of our jump rope song,  "American Pandemic: The Lost World of 1918" or if you still haven't gotten enough there's "The 1918 Influenza Pandemic."

If you do fall victim, stay home. Don't share. Think happy thoughts or think of the debt ceiling. Whatever gets you through.

Joe Toschik is a Public Services Librarian at Half Moon Bay Library who can currently be seen spraying Lysol over everything.

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