Search

Heard that onions can absorb the H1N1 virus? That there's a special spray that can shield you from the flu? That H1N1 is wiping out entire Asian villages? If you spend much time online, perhaps some of this sounds familiar. In fact, none of it is true.

During any epidemic like the one we're now experiencing, urban legends are inevitable. But the Internet is giving hucksters, hoaxsters, and ill-informed individuals unprecedented power to spread false--and sometimes harmful--information. We need to remain on guard against not only the H1N1 virus but also hype and hokum about it.

One of the latest hoaxes is a widely-circulated e-mail message stating that everyone age 18 and older must create a personal H1NI "vaccination profile" on the CDC Web site. According to the CDC, there is no such program. A link on the e-mail takes you to a fake site that tries to collect personal information, and ironically, may infect your computer.

Other e-mails about H1N1 are perhaps less malicious but equally misleading. One warns that the H1N1 vaccine contains ingredients that cause autoimmune disorders and "a lifetime of crippling illness and early death." Another, urging everyone to "start stocking up on food now," says the virus has mutated and is expected to kill 60% of Americans beginning early next year. According to the e-mail, the CDC is hiding this fact "because they don't want people to panic."

You can also find a plethora of products marketed on the Web that falsely claim to fight the flu. Among them: masks and inhalers, air fresheners and herbal extracts, shampoos and sprays. There's even a fake version of the drug Tamiflu, made of talc and Tylenol.The FDA's Web site lists about 150 products that are not approved to fight H1N1 yet are being marketed for that purpose. And there are likely far more that have managed to escape detection.

Next time you encounter sites promoting germ-killing gels or immune-boosting herbs that promise to protect you from H1N1, think twice before you buy. As for forwarded e-mails you receive about the flu, check out snopes.com or about.com to see if the messages are legitimate. If you can't verify the information with a reputable source such as the CDC, hit the delete key and tell the sender to do the same.

As H1N1 flu marches across college campuses this fall, students are hearing a simple message about how to protect themselves: Wash your hands. But getting them to comply may be far more complicated.

During an infectious disease outbreak at a Canadian university in 2006, researchers found that students frequently failed to clean their hands before going into the cafeteria--even though there was a hand sanitizer and poster by the door instructing them not to enter unless they washed up. According to the study, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Environmental Health, 83% of the students said they practiced proper hand hygiene. Yet they actually did so less than 20% of the time.

The researchers say one problem is that the "wash your hands" messages posted on campus weren't compelling enough. So how do you get students' attention? Gross them out. At least that's what another study on hand-washing found. As this video shows, when messages such as, "You just peed, wash your hands," were posted in bathrooms at the University of Denver, hand-washing rates went up.

This kind of in-your-face approach isn't limited to hygiene messages. It's also being used in Great Britain to warn kids about the dangers of texting while driving. Police in Wales have produced a gory video, which has become a YouTube sensation, showing a deadly accident caused by a teen texter.

Health officials in New York City are also trying to shock people--
in this case adults -- with posters on subways. A picture shows disgusting globs of fat pouring from a soda bottle, along with the message "Don't drink yourself fat." The campaign, which will run through the fall, aims to get people to cut back on soda and other sugary beverages.

Not all health educators agree that provoking shock and disgust is an effective way to change behavior. But if the result is that even a few more students wash their hands or put away their cell phones in the car, it's worth the effort. At the very least, it makes those health messages a lot more entertaining.