The Plague?
So, we are driving along and I am attempting to read billboards in Maltese. I comment that I feel like I am a child again, reading out loud everything that is written everywhere. We go by a huge sign that turns out to say “store cooked foods in the top part of the refrigerator, and raw foods in the bottom part.” Interesting. I have never seen a commercial or public service announcement instructing people how to arrange their refrigerators. Later I see one that says “wash your hands often.” Interesting. It is the sort of thing I expect to see in a kindergarten class, or in a poor country that is rampant with disease.
A couple of days later another of these signs pops up, saying what translates as “cook chicken and other poultry at an appropriate tempreature.” And then I notice the website: www.pandemic.gov.mt . Wow, quite strong! Is there a PANDEMIC going on in Malta? Did I miss something? Is the plague back?
This public campaign strikes me as odd for many reasons. First, it has the paternalistic overtone that I would expect from the Swedish nanny-state. It almost verges on having a Communist-era feel to it. Next, I am troubled by listing the word “pandemic” on these signs. Everyone seems pretty healthy on the island, I do not hear of people dying any more than usual, and besides, all of these tips seem like common sense to me. Further, is this supposed to be about bird flu? It is no longer making the news and it really was an exaggeration to begin with.
Things get weirder when I go and visit the pandemic website. It simply redirects you to the “Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care.” There are links to a whole list of prevention tips against bird flu (in Maltese and English, with no particular consistency). So why not just list the Ministry’s website to begin with? Is this an attempt to spread a bit of panic? Did they figure they would use a bit of fear to educate people about hand washing? Are refrigerators being used incorrectly, to the point where the government had to step in?
I leave the website, no less puzzled than I was before. Some things you come across are just plain strange, wherever you are in the world.
I like this entry. I bet you knew I’d write, too. While the shock-and-obey maneuver might not be an attractive and tactful one, I completely understand it, taken where it comes from. As you said, Malta is an affluent little country where you’d never expect such things. However, Malta IS a little country. An island moreover (classic public health vulnerability) nestled in the basin of the Mediterranean surrounded by a number of countries where you would expect and in fact do see outbreaks of deadly infectious diseases. Not to add fuel to hysteria here, but some of its surrounding countries have a number of reported H5N cases. It’s very prudent for the MOH to put forth strong messages presently so that an island that has seen very few to no recent outbreaks (and might therefore be incredulous of such events happenings there, as you were) prevents an infection within its waterbound boundaries. Really textbook. But you’re fine.
Sorry, this is what’s become of me…
Mi, H5N1
Considering how small Malta is territorially, I figure that it’s necessary for the government to place such “bold” public service announcements. As “Mi” notes, one outrbreak of the H5N could lead to all sorts of… histeria?