The CDC has a list of swine flu cases, as of today, in the US. But what is missing from this chart and the webpage, is any information about the acuity of the illness. So far, it seems one person has died–a toddler visiting from Mexico, where the cases seemed to be more severe, at least initially. But there is no information on how many of these people required hospitalization or even treatment, as compared to regular flu.

Even though some people receive anti-viral treatment for the flu, most do not need it and recover on their own–or would recover on their on without any drugs. So without any comparative information, there is really little to go on here. Just the number of actually proven cases, which is quite low. There may be more cases, but if so, then they must be fairly mild if the patient did not seek medical care or testing.

It is unfortunate that there have already been blatant false alarms which leads people to lose faith in our infectious disease experts, and the media for fanning the flames of hysteria. The 1976 panic over swine flu was a fiasco, and the dire warnings of the bird flu–that we were in imminent danger of a massive pandemic that would kill millions upon millions–never happened. And lest we forget the small pox vaccine initiative, when we faced imminent danger of a bioterrorist attack, and the call was out to vaccinate the so-called first responders. When the vast majority flatly refused, and started asking questions about risk, side effects, paid time off, manufacturer liability, etc, and when less than 10% of the number projects were actually vaccinated, the plan was quietly shelved. Amazing how the threat of a bioterrorist attack also vanished, and nothing has been said since.

So in lieu of these past events, it is not unusual that many are quite skeptical. I think we should remain guarded and watchful, but that’s it. Considering the despicable environment of factory farming, it is not surprising that pigs get ill and when you have thousands crowded together in unsanitary conditions, not unusual that viruses will mutate. Add that to the overload of antibiotics that are fed to commercially raised farm animals to fatten them up, and to keep them from getting sick (an attempt to make up for the unsanitary and cruel environment), and we’ve got a perfect mix for breeding new and resistant diseases. The virus jumped species and seems to have quickly adapted itself to a human to human transmission, which is something that did not happen with the avian flu.

Instead of panic, wringing hands, and trying to find the ultimate vaccine, we should be devoting some energy to eliminating the cause and cleaning up farming.

I love old photos, especially the ones that depict daily life from another era. Well, since we are all being inundated with talk of the swine flu, the coming and long awaited pandemic, etc., I thought it was fitting to put in a link to these great old photos from the 1918-1919 Spanish flu epidemic. Courtesty of the National Archives.

In the photo below, a Seattle streetcare conductor is refusing to let passengers on board who do not have a mask. Like those flimsy masks were really going to keep the flu bugs away, but I suppose better than nothing.