 "Photo: Evan Andrews")
The World Health Organization reported this week that "swine flu" or H1N1 has taken nearly 3,000 lives since the virus was discovered. Though many a bespectacled and lab-coated scientist have warned Americans about the dangers of swine flu throughout the summer, the threat of outbreak is overblown but real. Swine flu will not be the next Black Plague, but the medical community can use the outbreaks as practice for a more catastrophic epidemic.
For many Americans, the seemingly annual threat of another animal flu has become frustrating. Bird Flu, SARS and other diseases each have had their turn terrorizing the American public. A ticking death count coupled with images from foreign countries with citizens wearing medical masks are enough to worry anyone. The media reports the 600 deaths from swine flu as though Americans are waiting for Eric Idle to bring out their dead. In reality most people infected with H1N1 do not even require medicine, and the death toll is miniscule when compared to the 36,000 who die every year from regular flu.
With WHO claiming that swine flu could eventually infect 2 billion people, concerns about the disease are on the rise. As the weather cools and traditional flu season starts, more deaths will occur. Currently there is no commercially available vaccine for H1N1, which adds to the overall menace of the disease if it were to mutate.
"There is no sense that the virus has mutated or changed in any sense," said WHO Spokesman Gregory Hartl. "We are continuing to see an increased number of deaths because we are seeing many, many more cases."
Swine flu may not be particularly devastating to America, or other developed nations. But for countries without access to proper medical care, the spread of the disease could devastate millions. Americans are right to be concerned about the new flu, but the majority of the devastation will be felt by the third world and other impoverished nations.
WHO should continue to focus on creating a vaccine, and informing the world of the dangers of swine flu. It is easy to become jaded seeing the panic created by various flu epidemics, but even over-preparing for minor epidemics ensures a better level of preparedness should the world be threatened by a more deadly strain. Mass paranoia is neither the solution to H1N1 nor the way to prepare for epidemics in the future. Exaggerators of recent flu outbreaks have pushed away many citizens who should be concerned about the nation's ability to handle a medical crisis. Swine flu may not be the disaster that is predicted, but WHO and the medical community are right to plan for a worst-case scenario. A strong and cautious medical approach can continue to prevent new diseases from turning into worldwide disasters.
Ian McPhail is a junior history major.
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