by kkstiles
I agree with you that, strictly speaking, one could interpret the card text to allow a Symptom card to be swapped with another card during Encoded Messages event.But I'm curious about how you interpret one of the icons on the Rule H sticker. Underneath where it says to take 1 Symptom card into your hand when you enter a city containing 1+ disease choices, it also has an icon showing 6 fanned-out cards with "-1" underneath. I take that to mean that a Symptom card essentially makes your hand able to hold one less usable card. So it's part of your "hand" in that it counts toward the 7-card limit but it can't be used for anything; it just clogs you up, slows you down.