Fresh air

Madam, – Travelling into the city by bus today, on a miserable and damp, but not especially cold, morning, I noticed that, as…

Madam, – Travelling into the city by bus today, on a miserable and damp, but not especially cold, morning, I noticed that, as usual, not a single window was open. The atmosphere was, of course, fetid, clammy and, I would hazard a guess, the ideal breeding ground for viral diseases.

For reasons best known to themselves, the vast majority of Irish commuters seem to possess an almost pathological aversion to fresh air.

At the best of times I find this annoying and uncomfortable, but with the current incidence of swine flu apparently set to rise over the coming months, it’s now more serious than mere discomfort.

For those of us who would rather not endure days of aching joints, high temperatures, night sweats, vomiting and diarrhoea, perhaps this advice could be (no pun intended) taken on board. – Yours, etc,

DAVID MARLBOROUGH,

Kenilworth Park,

Dublin 6W.