The Richmond Register

Viewpoints

May 5, 2009

Nation suffers swine flu media exposure

Swine flu is sweeping the nation! We’re all going to die!



Well, not really, but this kind of lead gets the reader’s attention.



Considering the relatively few number of cases that have been confirmed, some of the worries about swine flu strike me as excessive. Yet the World Health Organization is on heightened alert and ranks this illness as just one level below a pandemic.



Of course, a pandemic — in technical terms — means that a lot of people around the planet will be exposed to a communicable disease. It doesn’t mean bodies will be lying in the streets, or guys with carts will be calling upon survivors to bring out their dead.



Yet talk about flu, combined with a possible pandemic, tends to mesh with the warnings many health experts have been sounding for years. Somewhere out there, they say, is a flu virus waiting to mutate into a truly deadly form. The worldwide toll, they say, will be in the millions when it strikes.



The current spread of swine flu has sparked concern because of the multiple deaths reported in Mexico, where the outbreak began. Yet those few Americans who contracted the flu seem to suffer relatively mild symptoms.



They become ill, and then they get better.



Why is this particular disease causing so much fuss? The typical flu that makes the rounds every year is a virus hosted by humans. It mutates regularly, which sometimes makes it more serious. But humans have considerable resistance to it.



The swine flu that began in Mexico is a sort a hybrid, with virus strains from pigs and birds mixed in with the human flu form. This raises concerns that human resistance may be weak.



And even though most people appear to suffer slight symptoms, this may be misleading. The virus could quickly mutate into a more harmful form.



From all the media coverage and public reaction, you would think this outbreak is far more serious than the evidence so far suggests. Swine flu has overshadowed the economy, terrorism, talk of climate change and just about everything else.



This has prompted a wave of fear. Even Vice President Biden suggested people should avoid flying or taking public transportation.



And, of course, the fact the flu began south of the border is being used as reason to renew calls for tougher border controls. Here’s a news flash: If we can’t stop human beings from crossing the border illegally, what chance do we have at stopping a virus?



Especially one that’s already here.



Despite all the publicity the swine flu has received, the chance of exposure for most U.S. residents remains exceedingly low. If you’re looking for something to worry about, try the drunk or distracted motorist that’s heading in your direction. Now that’s scary.



With no vaccine for the swine flu currently available, the question becomes, what is the average individual — bombarded with reports about this disease — supposed to do about it?



The answer, when you get right down to it, is strikingly mundane: People should make a point to wash their hands regularly.



It’s the best way to prevent the spread of swine flu, and other illnesses for that matter.\



Mitchel Olszak writes for the New Castle (Pa.) News.

Text Only
Viewpoints
  • Jim Waters Europe’s economic tremors offer useful lesson for Kentucky

    Americans paying even cursory attention to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic are about to get a stark reminder of an economic principle that too often gets pushed to the side – especially during troubling times: No government has ever taxed, spent or borrowed its way to prosperity.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill-Robinson.jpg Why would anyone not vote?

    Should those of us who vote be disturbed that so few people voted in this past Tuesday’s election?
    Only 17 percent of Madison County’s registered voters went to the polls. And, not everyone who’s eligible is registered to vote.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • Ronnie-Ellis.jpg Republicans are making some noise

    FRANKFORT — Last week’s news was mostly about Tuesday’s primary election but some Republicans who were not on the ballot also had interesting things to say.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • Ike Adams Taking our Sunday night baths

    There in the head of Blair Branch, when I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we always took our weekly baths, even during cold weather, every Sunday night, whether we needed one or not.

    May 24, 2012 1 Photo

  • Michael-Barone-NEW-Color.jpg Obama pursues higher tax rates

    In the run-up to this weekend’s G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European “austerity” with Barack Obama’s economic policies.
    European spending cuts, the argument goes, have hurt people and are arousing political opposition, while Obama’s proposals to keep federal spending at 24 percent of gross domestic product indefinitely are likely to succeed.

    May 21, 2012 1 Photo

  • Susan-Estrich-color.jpg Graduation day

    It’s that time of year. What’s the old song? “I can still remember...” And I do. It’s what I talk about when I’m invited to be a graduation speaker and what I write about every year at this time.
    It’s about all those painful memories.

    May 18, 2012 1 Photo

  • Michael-Barone-NEW-Color.jpg Recent news could cause panic for Obama campaign

    Is it panic time at Obama headquarters in Chicago? You might get that impression from watching events – and the polls – over the past few weeks.

    May 17, 2012 1 Photo

  • Jim Waters EPA goes medieval on Kentucky coal

    EPA goes medieval on KRoman legions? Horrific crucifixions? Sacking dissenters and making examples out of their deaths?
    These may sound like some of the gruesome tactics used by military commanders of the ancient world, but according to Al Armendariz, who, until recently, was regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s much more relevant to modern America than we’d care to believe.

    May 13, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill-Robinson.jpg Don’t just pick out a card

    When Anna Jarvis launched the movement for a Mother’s Day observance in 1908, her intention was to have everyone write their mother a letter, putting some thought and sincerity into thanking and telling her what she had meant to them.
    Unsurprisingly, the idea caught on quickly and became very popular. But, Jarvis was disappointed with the outcome.

    May 12, 2012 1 Photo

  • Ronnie-Ellis.jpg Returning to a calmer situation

    FRANKFORT – After a two-month absence, I’ve returned to Frankfort where things seem calmer than when I left.

    May 11, 2012 1 Photo

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Poll

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

Yes
No
I used to, but I quit.
     View Results