Jackson wearing a mask in 1992; and every year after in preparation for the 2009 swine flu pandemic
Did you know that the common influenza disease kills about half a million people a year? That’s during our ‘flu season’ and you don’t usually get a massive hoo-ha about it. Swine flu has killed a *confirmed* 8 people in Mexico and 1 in the USA according to the WHO (World Health Organisation) with 170+ possible deaths, that haven’t actually yet been proved as the H1N1 strain.
I swear the world’s media is fearmongering people into thinking this swine flu will be a repeat of the 1918 Spanish flu, which did kill an estimated 80million people. Scientists have been predicting this since 2005 however, and the world is said to be ready to easily combat this strain now and I can’t see this turning into the medicinal holocaust 1918 was.
But then I suppose I’m not an expert in this field at all, so maybe I shouldn’t get involved?
It just brings a lot of stupidity from people who listen to the media too religiously. My brother told me yesterday of how he sneezed in class, and fellow pupils asked to be moved away from him because he has swine flu. At first, granted, I laughed, but these kids genuinely felt for their health.
I see statuses on facebook reading, ‘I seem to be contracting flu like symptoms… maybe I should go to the doctors to check for swine flu?’, and I just hope they aren’t serious.
Granted the first confirmed death outside Mexico due to swine flu was called earlier from the Texas authorities, a poor 22 month old baby falling victim to the disease, and the pandemic was raised to phase 5 last night due to someone contracting the disease despite not traveling to Mexico but their girlfriend had traveled to Mexico.
Tragic as this news is, I’m not afraid of swine flu yet, and it’s nice to see some humour is there to lift up spirits in this awful climate we are currently in;
It's a-me, a-mario! a-kinda....
“I see statuses on facebook reading, ‘I seem to be contracting flu like symptoms… maybe I should go to the doctors to check for swine flu?’, and I just hope they aren’t serious.”
Likewise. If you think you have symptoms of swine flu the one of the last places you should go is your doctors! After all, sitting in a small, cramped waiting room with other people is just asking for trouble.
While I do sort of agree with you on this, the way the WHO and the gov’t are reacting to it all seems to suggest that it isn’t the media making people scared.
If only I’d bought shares in Kleenex a few months ago….
It’s all died down a bit now though I think.
Soon as the swine flu skank came along….
Can’t wait to bus’ that out at UKC
Indeed. I’ll know if I’ve caught it off you if I get a rasher. But anyway, I was quite worried about it so phoned up NHS Direct, but all I got was crackling. Decided against calling for an hambulance though.
Ahem….