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Connie Goldsmith is a fellow member of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and the author of Influenza: The Next Pandemic?
Connie writes for adults and children, and is a practicing RN. Most of her adult writing is for a nursing journal. Most of her juvenile writing consists of “disease books” for Lerner Publishing’s school and library imprint: Twenty-First Century Books. She also has reviewed children’s books for California Kids, a Sacramento regional parenting publication, for the past ten years. Connie has been too busy (or, she says, too lazy) to get around to making her own website, but hopes to do so in the next few months. Until then, you can see her books on http://www.amazon.com/ or find them at http://www.lernerbooks.com/.
Enjoy the interview!
Jen @ Mama's Magic: On 4/29 the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the level of worldwide pandemic alert to Phase 5. We’re seeing evidence that the situation is becoming more serious. Just how worried do you think the average American person should be about swine flu?
Connie Goldsmith: First, thanks for giving me this chance to speak with your readers, Jen. As a writer and an RN, I’m especially appreciative of the opportunity to pass on reliable information about this frightening flu situation. The average American should be concerned, and should keep abreast of breaking news in their communities, as well as the country.
You’re correct in that WHO increased the threat of pandemic from level 3 to 5 in just a few days. According to their website: “Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.”
Influenza pandemics tend to occur when the following three conditions are met: 1) There must be a new influenza virus that is highly pathogenic for humans; 2) the virus must be genetically unique — one for which the human population has no pre-existing immunity; and 3) the virus must be easily transmitted from human to human. We’ve clearly met conditions 2 and 3. We don’t yet know about condition 1 – we don’t yet know how deadly this new flu is.
MM: Most of us are familiar with the common-sense precautions for reducing the spread of illness: washing hands properly; trying not to touch hands to mouth, eyes, or nose; covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing; avoiding contact with sick people when possible; staying home ourselves if we are sick. Are there other things we should be doing to lessen the likelihood of getting sick and to prepare for the possibility of a flu pandemic?
CG: It looks like you’ve hit most of them, Jen. I’d begin to think about avoiding crowds and not shaking hands with people. I’d highly recommend that people begin to think about stockpiling food, water, and necessary household items in case stores close down or there are interruptions in the nation’s delivery systems due to flu (i.e., truck drivers, warehouses, manufacturing facilities). Since I completed my flu book, I’ve maintained a four to six week supply of food, water, pet food, medical supplies, etc. I’m presently checking it over and adding additional items.
MM: Many Mama’s Magic readers are mothers with small children. Do you have any specific tips for a household with kids?
CG: We’re beginning to see school closures around the country. Parents who must work need to think about alternative child-care arrangements if their own schools close. Those who send their children to day-care centers will want to ensure the caregivers are well-versed in hygiene measures.
Watch your family for signs of illness. Flu is a respiratory illness. Symptoms include high fever, headaches, muscle aches, and cough. Gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are generally not related to the flu virus, although it is possible for a child with flu to have those symptoms as well.
Many hospitals, medical groups, and health insurance companies (for example, Kaiser), offer free nurse advice lines. Check to see if you have access to these services, and if you do, use them. I worked on a nurse advice line for three years and most callers were mothers of young children.
(Note from Jen: I second this advice -- I call the Kaiser nurse line often, and they are always extremely helpful!)
MM: Can you share one or two interesting things you learned while writing your book, Influenza, the Next Pandemic? (Either about the flu itself and/or about the writing/ research process, since many of my readers are also writers themselves.)
CG: I learned two interesting things about flu while writing this book. First, that the terrible Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 killed at least 100 million people around the world. Because it occurred during the First World War, newspapers were pretty much censored and people knew little about what was going on outside their own communities. The horror of the war seemed to exceed the horror of the pandemic, and it was largely forgotten until the past decade or so.
The second thing I learned about the flu was how archaic the vaccine-making process is. It involves raising hens in hygienic conditions, gathering eggs in nearly sterile conditions, and then taking months to manufacture the vaccine in labs. Viruses are injected into the eggs and then incubated. The fluid is withdrawn and purified and turned into vaccine. It takes 3 eggs to make one dose of vaccine. I believe the flu vaccine is the only vaccine that requires eggs for manufacture. It will take five or six months, or even more, to develop a vaccine for H1N1 swine flu. And of course, those with bad egg allergies cannot take flu vaccine in any event.
As far as writing the book, as a nonfiction writer, luckily I enjoy research. I also write continuing education articles for nurses for a major publisher and that keeps me current on a lot of topics. I try to utilize my research for more than one purpose. For example, when I completed my Lerner book about meningitis, I wrote an article for nurses about bacterial meningitis, and when I wrote my Lerner book about malaria (coming out Spring 2010), I also wrote an article about malaria for nurses. An important writing tip for anyone, is to make your research do double duty for you whenever possible.
Thank you so much, Connie, for taking the time to share your unique perspective with us. Wash your hands everybody, and stay healthy!
Not surprisingly, he indicates that there is trash at Tree Trash Park. So we set out to find it and clean it up!
You know how some folks just can't get their morning started without their cup of caffeine? BB seems to be like that about her puzzles. Case in point -- this expression, at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday morning:
In other BB news, today she made up her first story. Perhaps it was inspired by the creativity of her brother when he made up his own lullaby the night before (which S posted about 
