Are you travelling with your young children this summer?

With today's developments, and the closing of the schools for 2 weeks due to H1N1.


How are you all as parents planning your summer holidays? We have an upcoming vacation for 2 weeks fully paid for. Now, hubby is a little hesitant about bringing the kids on an airplane while this H1N1 outbreak is brewing rapidly.


We really want this vacation, but not at the expense of our kids and family's health and well being.

JUst want to know what other parents are doing? and how they are seeing this (esp with young kids)

Thanks.

It's the flu, not Ebola. The risk of contracting it pretty low, and the risk of really serious sickness is very small. I would not hesitate to get on a plane with my 3½ and 2 year old.


Are your kids (and you) vaccinated against the "normal" flu strains? If not, those pose more or less the same risk as H1N1.

I have just booked a holiday for our family including 6 month old, and I did consider not booking due to H1N1. I will take precautions - hand washing etc but if you are healthy this flu is more an inconvenience than a huge risk. In the world 140 or so people have died of the flu in the past 6 weeks or so, think how many have died on the road in that time in the world... but we still drive places.

"In the world 140 or so people have died of the flu in the past 6 weeks or so, think how many have died on the road in that time in the world... but we still drive places."


Good point about road safety. A daily drive is much more likely to kill you than getting the flu.


About half a million people die of the flu yearly (yes, 500000 people). The number for the US alone is about 36000 deaths/year. 140 is just the number of known H1N1 deaths to date. As flu goes, it is rather mild so far.


My point is that the flu is always out there, H1N1 or no. So make sure your kids get a flu shot. It may not protect against H1N1 but it does protect against the other common strains. Apart from that, take hygiene precautions and stop worrying about it.

I had tickets booked to the US for next week and was going to to do 1 week in West coast, then fly to east coast and back to HK. Was planning to travel with both my kids 7 & 3 yo. I spoke to both their Paeds. This is what they had to say, 'While swine flu is curable , if a pre-school child gets it the chances of complications are large. We do not recommend travel to US, Australia & UK' . I had to cancel my tickets becos I did not want to risk infection, due to the huge flight times I was doing in the US.

Having said that, it would be a good idea to check which country u will be traveling to and what their quarantine procedures are. In HK as you know the swine flu victim is quarantined in a no-contact hospital. In US they are quarantined in their respective homes.


I am planning to travel with my kids next month, but would probably go to Europe or some place where the chances are less. Having said that will I be worried in the flight?..I will be on high alert!