An inspection gone wrong - H1N1

From the Canadian Broadcasting Company:

Swine-flu inspectors in improper gear got virus
Some staff wore ill-fitting respirators borrowed from firehall

Federal government inspectors did not take proper precautions when investigating a swine-flu outbreak on a central Alberta pig farm, says a report obtained by CBC News.

Two workers for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) subsequently got sick with the H1N1 virus, according to a report by Alberta Health Services.

The pair took nasal and blood samples from pigs on a farm near Rocky Mountain House for two hours on the night of April 28. The workers wore protective gear, but the report said they did not have the right equipment and were not shown proper procedures.

The full-face respirators available to them had not been fitted properly, and also fogged up their masks, making work difficult inside the hot barn.

The employers need to be taken to task here -- H1N1 is not something to kid around with. The article goes on to say that these people were using fire fighting masks, not Biological Iso masks. There is a big difference... Even if the people didn't take the masks off to clear the fog, the filters are not designed for virus sized particles, they are designed for smoke (activated carbon). Way to go...