The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. ~ H. P. Lovecraft.Evidently a lot of people are seriously concerned about the swine flu which has penetrated our shores. The Washington Post gave it a full page of coverage and in one hour yesterday there were 10,000 tweets on Twitter pertaining to the latest details of this potential epidemic. A search on Google News for swine flu revealed more than 33,423 news articles about the potential pandemic.
There may be good reasons for concern when it comes to these kinds of things. The 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic killed more people than World War I which preceded it. In fact, that flu killed more people than the Black Death Bubonic Plague of 1347-51.
Children would skip rope to a nursery rhyme about the flu that went like this:
I had a little bird
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
and in-flu-enza.
The number of actual deaths in Mexico from flu has been less than 200 and only 26 attributed to the strain of flu being called "swine flu." Ironically, while we're telling Americans not to travel to Mexico, the European Union is beseeching its people to forgo travelling to the U.S.
If all this flu news is giving you the blues and you want to keep current with it all, here are some steps you can take to track the swine flu.
I have not lost any sleep over this except to worry a little whether it's possible get infected thru online social networks. Actually, maybe someone will suggest that MySpace and Facebook are helping ameliorate the spread of the disease since we do all our socializing online now instead of face-to-face.
For the record, if you're especially concerned, the Center for Disease Control has a lot of good information available, too. And don't worry about those pork chops in the fridge. They'll be just fine.
To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another. ~ Katherine Paterson.
6 comments:
You make a great point Ed! Too many poeple worry over things that we don't have much control over! I will still enjoy pork chops & get plenty of sleep :)
A bit of trivia:
Pork here in the Lao PDR is pink, instead of the dull tan color people are used to in the US. Beef here is red, instead of brown.
Hi! See my post on the subject at http://incentives-matter.blogspot.com/2009/04/political-irrationality-swine-flu-scare.html
Thanks for the notes. Regarding the color of meat over there: interesting. We notice a difference in chicken eggs from home grown and stores, so it doesn't surprise me.
As for putting the swine flu stats in perspective, good comments. I just checked end of Tuesday; 68 confirmed cases, zero deaths, five hospitalized. As opposed to more than 1500 deaths from cholera in Zimbabwe. Yes, we are comparing apples and oranges... According to WHO, malaria kills 8% of all children under five worldwide. Astounding.
>>>>>>>Regarding the color of meat over there: interesting. We notice a difference in chicken eggs from home grown and stores, so it doesn't surprise me.
Yeah, the yolks are orange in home-grown eggs, while the store-bought ones are much paler. That comes from the difference in the life-styles of the chickens, and the food they're fed, or find themselves. The yolks here are orange.
The difference in meat color is caused by a difference in freshness. The pink and red pork and beef will eventually turn dull tan and brown here too, if the meat is left in the refrigerator for a week or more. I've tried it (accidently).
I agree -- there's no use in worrying about the flu. Face masks aren't going to stop the virus from spreading, if it's going to spread.
The culture here is to eat from a common plate, and to share the same glass while drinking. I haven't noticed more people having colds or flu than anywhere else, and I generally feel healthier here than I did in the US ... The one guy who always seems to be sick is the 20-some-year-old volunteer from a big city in South Korea, (who teaches physical fitness).
H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those caused by other influenza viruses. Health authorities across the globe are taking steps to try to stem the spread of swine flu after outbreaks in Mexico and the United States. The World Health Organization has called it a "public health emergency of international concern."
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