News story: Swine flu, why not to worry.

Swine flu is the worlds new pandemic, It is in 26 different countries including 44 states. There has been 2532 cases and three deaths in the USA. Swine flu starts when people who have close contact with pigs catch the airbourne disese from them and can be passed person to person. Many believe that this current scare started in mexico, but the first case in 1918 and the other in 1976 were believed to have started in the USA. With the Recent advances in transportation technology it is very easy for a pan demic to start, one infected person flys from the US to spain and now its there and then those people travel to other countries and before it is even a news story thousands of people could be infected. With all those facts and arguements you would think my next line would be to tell you to board up you house and buy alot of water and freeze dried food, but i'm not, i'm here to tell you to live your life normally and as long as you do the basics like wash your hands you will be in no danger at all.



With all the news stories out there you would think that people are dropping like flies when they get it, they aren't. People are getting it and staying home from school and work and taking cold pills and are getting better. Many believe that the reason that people in mexico are getting it and dying is that the US and many other countries are head and foot more advanced in medicine research and overall health. People are forgetting how dangerous the common flu is, It kills 36000 in the US and 3000 in canada each year, so people are much more at risk each year from the commom flu then this years go around of the swine flu. Recently Tamiflu has been given to young children in mexico and there has been improvment shown. The prognosis for about 90%-95% will recover with no problem, That 5%-10% who don't will most likely be very young children and the elderly.


The swine flu has a long history dating back to the first US outbreak in 1918 that corresponded with the common flu outbreak of that same year, the origins of the original strian is still a mystery. More recently in 1976 there was an outbreak of swine flu that started when an army recruit felt tired and weak and died the next day and a few days later four other recruits went to the hospital. immunization was delayed but after it was developed 3 elderly women died, after a few weeks there was a side effect that was discovered about the vaccine. The side effect was Guillian-Barres syndrome (GBS) which is a nueromuscular paralyzing disorder. 500 cases of GBS were reported and 25 deaths. More people died of the vaccine then the swine flu in 1976. In 1988 a 32 year old women whos was eight months pregnant became ill after going to the county fair, 8 days after the fair she passed away but luckily doctors got to her fast enough and were able to induce labor and she gave birth to a baby girl shortly before she died. Now there is the 2009 outbreak that is officialing be dating as an outbreak on May 2, 2009. It is suspected that people were originaly infected by being in close contact with pigs at huge pig farms in mexico and spread when many americans got in mexico and then returned home to the US. The biggest difference between this years virus is that it is a new strain so the vaccine does not yet exist but is being devoleped now.

Transportation is probably the biggest component to a pandemic and it's how something that is so isolated can turn into a pandemic so quick. Considering that around 2.5 million people around the world fly each day and considering that 600'000 of those are international flights, also consider that it is know that most airlines only clean the blankets and pillows once every 2 months, that is alot of oppourtunities to spread a virus that would have stayed put 100 years ago. After first becoming known in mid april 2009 the swine flu has infected 7,520 people in 34 countries as of May 15, 2009. Considering that the deadliest pandemic ever was small pox that started in 1796 when transportation was a horse or your legs doesn't really keep up your hopes but also consider that medicine research was in it's most infintial of stages so it's really a toss up. A poll on Quizzilla.com asking "are you afriad of the swine flu" reported that only 25% of people who voted are afriad of it which is goo because the last thing you need during a pandemic is panic and hysteria.

I figured i would ask some people if they are scared of the swine flu. I asked my mom who works at a hospital if her job makes the swine flu more scary, she said "No, it hasn't really been a problem, i haven't seen anything at all at work". When my dad was asked "if the swine flu became a real pandemic, what would you do", he said "I would just live my life because it is no big deal". I asked my grandfather "are you scared of the swine flu", He said "Ya , kinda because there has been some cases in rochester so i wonder who has it when i go to the store". So i guess it depends on where you are. The swine flu is scary but if you do your research and don't buy into the hype you will be fine so take a breath and settle down.