Marquan Jackson in the House!

These are the times in which pigs like Babe are no longer our friends, but only our enemies.  We must avoid Santa’s birdies and sign up to receive vital shots.  It seems that lately we must avoid anything dirty and disinfect daily to avoid getting the dreaded flu virus.  Society has gone from taking precautions to avoid the flu to quarantine.  What’s caused this recent paranoia and fear?  Ever since news of the swine flue broke out people have been paranoid beyond belief, and frankly it’s beginning to get on my nerves.

Background

A little background on the swine flu.  It is a string of the influenza virus that is found in pigs.  Human contraction of the virus from pigs is very rare but it is possible.  Despite popular belief, you cannot get the swine flu from eating pork.  The symptoms are the same as the regular influenza virus and include fever, sore throat, nausea, dizziness, weakness, and coughing.

Current Outbreak

Recently there have been some cases in Mexico of the swine flu and quickly there were cases in the United States and Europe.  True pandemic or simple paranoia?  Personally, I’m believing its more paranoia then serious cause of fear.  The only thing scary about the virus is there is no cure or medicine for the virus, but that is also true for every virus and strain of influenza.  There have been many cases but very few deaths.  Less than 0.1% in the United States.  This is no more than a mere media frenzy.  Yes its okay to be worried about viruses and sickness that have barely any cure, but there is no need to freak out about a virus that we have seen before and know how to lessen symptoms.  Many of the deaths are coming from poor societies that do not have adequate health care for all of their citizens.  And just like the common cold, people are bound to die from it.  You can die from every single illness and the death toll for swine flu is slim to none.  “President Obama, in regards to the outbreak, stated it was a cause for deep concern but not panic” (www.nytimes.com).  For once, I must agree with him.  We should be concerned with the swine flu just as much as we are concerned of any other sickness, but there is no need to quarantine yourself and stay locked up to avoid getting germs.

History Repeats Itself

There have been swine flu epidemics throughout history, including 1918, 1976, 2007, and currently 2009.  In 1918, the “Spanish” influenza caused about 50  million deaths worldwide and in 1976 25 deaths were recorded when the virus spread at Fort Dix, NJ.  This obviously was a great improvement since our bodies seem to find ways to protect ourselves and adapt to diseases.  In 2007, the Philippines was introduced to the swine flu when there was a not so devastating outbreak.  Over the years we have found ways to adapt to and survive from different flu viruses, but regardless of the numerous steps we take to protect ourselves, people are bound to get sick every now and then.

How do I avoid it?

It is not uncommon to experience paranoia in modern society, especially with the recent health movement.  Everyone is aiming to live longer by living healthier, and that not only includes diet and exercise, but also protection from various diseases and illnesses.  Lately people have been going out of their way to avoid any sorta of sickness and its kind of getting the the insanity stage.  To protect yourself from any virus, including the swine flu, it is important to wash your hands and to stay away from anyone with any type of sickness, but it is not necessary to go out of your way.  Simple every day precautions will do the trick and there is no need to freak out about another flu virus.  Stay level headed and avoid falling into the trap of the new age of pandemics.  Its important to protect and take care of your body, but its okay to go outside of your house without a face mask on.  Feel free to shove your mouth with a big, juicy BLT because frankly I’m sick and tired of hearing about the swine flu.

-Marquan

To learn more about the current epidemic, click HERE

To learn about the history of the swine flu, click HERE

To read the article in Newsweek, click HERE

VIDEO

The Swine Flu

Works Cited

Bachelor, Rosemary E. “History of Swine Flu Outbreaks.” Suite101.com. 5 May 2009 <http://diseases-

viruses.suite101.com/article.cfm/history_of_swine_flu_outbreaks>.

Garrett, Laurie. “The Path of a Pandemic.” Newsweek. 2 May 2009. 5 May 2009 <http://www.newsweek.com

/id/195692>.

“Swine influenze.” Wikipedia. 5 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_influenza>.

Zeleny, Jeff. “Obama Says Swine Flu Not a Cause for Alarm.” 27 Apr. 2009. The Caucus. 5 May 2009

<http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/obama-says-swine-flu-not-a-cause-

for-alarm/>.