Swine flu fears
I some what know the answer to this question already, but want to put it out there to see if anyone else has an idea of why everyone seems to be so concerned about becoming infected with the swine flu right now, which at this point has only killed hundreds in Mexico, yet the fact that 400 million cases of malaria each year of which about 1 million die every year . . . anyone worried about catching that? Or is this a case of malaria isn't in America so we don't have to worry about it? If that's the case, what's your excuse for not worrying about contracting tuberculosis? Cause the fact is that about 50,000 people die of TB each year in the US and I don't see any Americans freaking out over catching that? Facts like someone in the world is newly infected with TB bacilli every second sorta freaks me out and that about 1.5 million people died from TB last year world wide also seems rather scary, again why is nobody panicking about this??I heard one argument "what about the 1918-19 influenza pandemic? Well in less than a year, that pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, yes that is more than TB & malaria. But if we look at the past two flu pandemics in the US, we had the 1957 Asian flu pandemic infected some 45 million Americans and killed 70,000, and in 1969 a Hong Kong flu pandemic afflicted 50 million Americans and caused 33,000 deaths, according to my maths those two only cause 103 thousand deaths . . . now don't get me wrong this swine influenza could be another 1918 pandemic & then people will hate me for this post, but I'm still not convinced people should be panicking so much at this stage in the game ie people in the UK cancelling their holidays this summer in America for fear of catching it. I'll wait to see how bad it gets & if I'm not allowed to fly, as in the CDC says no, then I'll cancel my flights, but until then I'm going to keep all travel plans.
I would like to add just one more bit here: At last check on the CDC website the swine flu has one death in the USA compared to "regular flu" which has 36,000 a year!
posted by Sara @ 9:00 am
9 Comments:
Yee Haw! So totally agree with you, science buff(et)!! Are peeps completely also oblivious to the fact there remains an estimated 36,000 people in the USA EACH YEAR (based on stats from 1999 or 2001 I believe) who freakin' CROAK anyway from flu-related deaths or flu-related complications?!?! Where's THEIR flu parade?!?
Oink, Oink, achew...I'm sick o' flu.
PLUS (I just can't quit)...eventually we will ALL learn this particular flu has already BEEN in the USA for weeks!!! Mark my words...it'll come out. It's a political socio-economic issue to pretend things don't exist.
I'm done now.
cheers my dear ms cheesewiz!
Here's my 0.02 on the swine flu panic...
Swine flu is the current darling of the media so it is what we the masses have to worry about today... the "big scary thing" du jour.
Also, the swine flu is an unknown for most regular folks. We tend to think of the regular flu as a culling mechanism for the feeble and elderly so it scares folks to think that the swine variant might start killing indiscriminately.
I'm not saying these are rational or logical viewpoints but then again people, as a group, are neither rational nor logical.
Dave C: I totally agree with you, guess coming from a position where I know more about infectious diseases than your average joe it really pisses me off when things like this happen. Listening to the radio this morning for 2 hours in the lab I heard more warnings about how dangerous the buttons in lifts are (way to panic masses of people) and how to cover you mouth & nose when you sneeze (isn't that what you should already be doing??)
It's unlikely that a super virulent form of swine flu could develop as easily as in 1918 when infected soldiers were kept in "hospitals" literally on top of each other. Perfect conditions for selecting a virulent form of flu.
Yes, I had heard about the deaths each year from "regular" flus. It seems at this point to be just as Dave says: The Big Scary Thing which the American media seems determined to keep in our face. If it were not swine flu, it would be something else.
Mommio
but in this case it's not just America with the "scare tactics" it's the whole world!
yes, that is so--thanks for pointing that out
mommio
superb post.
Post a Comment
<< Home