WINNIPEG - At a time when Canada is preparing to welcome the world at the Winter Olympics - with an elbow bump rather than a handshake - concern over swine flu is prompting Canadians to forgo handshakes and hugs.
A Canadian Press-Harris Decima poll found roughly one-third of those surveyed said they were less inclined to shake hands because of the H1N1 virus.
More than half - 52 per cent - said someone had refused to shake hands or hug them because they were worried about spreading the virus.
The poll also suggested that almost two in three people had declined to touch others in the past for fear of passing on an illness.
"Canadians are pretty familiar already with the more polite habit of avoiding things like hugs or handshakes when you or someone you are with has a virus," said Doug Anderson, senior vice-president at Harris-Decima.
"It certainly suggests to me that - as the flu season approaches - that is a practice people are going to be accepting and undertaking themselves."
But Canadians aren't likely to be put off by any germaphobic tendencies, the poll suggested. The vast majority surveyed said they wouldn't be offended if someone refused to shake hands because of the flu.
Just over 1,000 Canadians were surveyed for the Harris Decima poll between Oct. 8 and Oct. 12. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Across the world, people have been urged to cut down on their contact with others. Olympic officials have advised athletes to think twice about shaking hands or kissing, suggesting some might want to bump elbows instead.
Health officials in Spain and France have said it might be a good idea for citizens to avoid the customary kiss of greeting on both cheeks.
And in Canada, archdioceses from Halifax to Vancouver are substituting the customary handshake during the sign of peace with a bow of the head. Holy water fonts are being sanitized and left empty.
In Edmonton, the minor soccer association has asked players to stand in front of one another and clap after a game in a show of sportsmanship instead of shaking hands.
But nowhere has the impact of the flu been felt more than on aboriginal reserves in Manitoba. They were hit hard in the spring. Patients were airlifted to intensive-care units in Winnipeg daily.
Grand Chief Ron Evans with the Assembly of First Nations said fear of the flu has permeated the small, isolated communities.
"It's impacting our culture," he said. "Even how people greet one another. It's not the handshake anymore. It's maybe touching fists. We see people doing that now."
Fear of the illness has affected more than simple greetings, he added. When one woman on the reserve lost a loved one to the flu last spring, people didn't call on her to commiserate because they were worried about catching the virus.
"One wonders what will happen when the outbreak happens (this fall) because everyone will be going into survival mode ... You would think that our compassion and our sorrow that we feel for one another would override the fear."
