Swine Flu

The hysteria at present surrounding Swine Flu should be treated with just as much rational scepticism and inquisitiveness as everything else on this blog. I'm constantly reassured by those around me, who seem to show a lot more restraint and reasoning powers than the experts consulted in our daily media outlets. It is true that the common Flu virus kills about 36,000 people in the US every year, and Swine Flu is nowhere near that level of severity (at the moment, at least). I note that the British government has ordered 30 million face masks for distribution among the populace. Why? It's true, coughs and sneezes do spread diseases (granted, flu is a virus), but so too do hands, and we're just as likely to become infected through contact with our eyes as we are through our nose and mouth. Face masks need to be changed every day as they grow damp with water vapour expelled in our respiration, and can you honestly claim that people will wear them properly and effectively? All of this is covered in this week's radio show by Dr Karl, the voice of scientific sense. If you don't already subscribe to their weekly download, I strongly suggest you do so. Further, in an email from Clinton, he reminds us all that these instances of media-hyped furore have a hidden subtext; "too many people have a vested interest in talking up these panics beyond what the evidence can support". And what happened to the other recent scares: "Salmonella in eggs, Y2K, Aids, BSE, SARS and dioxins"? I suggest we all calm down.