The latest global catastrophe, which isn’t nearly as serious as the media has made it out to be, arrives to us in the form of a common illness. It’s come to light that a certain strain of the influenza virus, called “swine flu” or “Mexican flu” has spread rapidly throughout our nation and the rest of the world.
It is believed that this particular flu, which is part bird flu and part pig flu, began its outbreak in Mexico several months prior to now. It appears to have made its way out of Mexico through vacationers returning to their homes. Initially, there had only been one reported death from this flu, in Texas. However, the count in the U.S. currently stands at three, with thousands infected.
A few weeks ago, mild panic ensued once word got out that a woman with this particular flu passed away. The media; along with humanity’s knack for obsessive, reckless worrying; portrayed the flu to be a pandemic in its infancy. Complete with news specials on “How to protect yourself,” protective masks being worn in mass, and a circulating buzz of “have you heard?” conversations, this carefully crafted disaster is almost a laughing stock now that the news stations are telling us, “It’s not as bad as we thought!”
There are antiviral drugs that infected individuals can take. Tamiflu, which was covered by the media to the point where everyone now knows its name and purpose; and Relenza. Tamiflu, however, is likely to be rendered ineffective if the flu mutates and becomes resistant to the drug’s neuraminidase inhibitors.
Contrary to what people are aware of, this strain of the flu has appeared several times before- in both humans and swine. The years it has been seen are 1918 (humans), 1976 (U.S. outbreak), 1988 (zoonosis- which means infecting humans), 1998 (U.S. outbreak in swine), and 2007 (Philippine outbreak in swine.)
Approximately 36,000 people die each year from influenza. This isn’t something particularly special we’re dealing with, and yet we’ve seemed to tip the glass with over-excitement. Now that we’ve settled our panic about other world issues just a smidgen, it seems time to open up new doors from which to back away from, screaming and cowering.
What’s next, America?