Swine flu hysteria hits Huddersfield

May 1 2009 By Nick Lavigueur

SWINE flu hysteria has begun to hit Huddersfield after a young holidaymaker was banned from going to work.

James Moorhouse, 22, who was holidaying in the popular Mexican resort of Cancun with a friend, has spoken of his shock at returning home to an airport full of mask-wearing paparazzi.

James, from Salendine Nook, was dealt another blow when he was told not to return to work this week by his Huddersfield-based employer.

But James said the global panic was out of control and when he was in Mexico he knew very little about the epidemic.

He said: “We didn’t know anything about it until Tuesday morning when we flew in to Manchester.

“We knew the epidemic had first started there, but it was over in Mexico City, there was nothing in Cancun.

“We’d had a text from my parents back home, but the first we knew was when the pilot told us there would be a health card to fill in and a health screener.

“We came through to arrivals and there were paparazzi everywhere wearing masks, which I thought was a bit much.

“I’m beginning to feel like a leper when I’m absolutely fine.

“People are being very distant, like I’ve got some kind of lurgi.

“Work have been very good, it was a bit of a surprise, but it’s a fairly big company so I do understand why they did it.

“They did consult a doctor and he said it can take a week for the illness to come out.

“I’ve been doing work from home and I’m going back on Monday so it’s only been three days off.”

He added: “If I got the chance I would go back to Mexico tomorrow, it was an amazing holiday.”

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) says the new swine flu virus is highly contagious and is spreading from person to person in the same way as colds and flu.