I am so tired of media pandemic hype. How many times in the last ten years have national news sources warned of an "imminent pandemic"? Five or ten, maybe? How many times in the last ten years have we had a pandemic, or even an epidemic? Has even one person that you know been infected with swine flu, bird flu, SARS, west nile, mad cow, or anthrax?
Most of the time, the only reason these diseases are scary at all is that they are new (or new to humans) and no one really knows anything about them. No one knows how contagious they are. No one knows what the mortality rate is for those infected, so everyone assumes the worst: "Oh my god, I bet swine flu is all around me. Oh my god, if I catch it, I'm dead." Often, neither of these statements proves to be true. Most of the time, the only people who need to worry about these diseases are people with already weakened immune systems, and they should be just as worried about catching a cold.
I'm not trying to be insensitive. No, I'm not a doctor. No, I don't know much about these diseases. Yes, I know they are real. Yes, I know people have died from them. That's terrible, and I'm sorry for them and their friends and families. All I'm saying is that every year or two, a new virus or bacteria strain is discovered and the media grabs onto it and paints it as the next bubonic plague, and I think that's ridiculous. Of course, no one can really say for certain whether or not any new illness will become a pandemic, and I suppose it's best to get the news out sooner rather than later; but the media blows it all out of proportion way too early.
The New York Times reported 114 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the US yesterday. How many confirmed cases of potentially life-threatening pneumonia were there yesterday? Hm? In Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, there are currently 12 confirmed swine flu related fatalities. Twelve. How many people died of lung cancer yesterday? Heart attacks? Car accidents? Are we as paranoid about smoking cigarettes, eating fatty foods, and driving as we are about traveling to Mexico?
Keep things in perspective. That's all I'm asking.
5 days ago
2 comments:
YES! My sister got West Nile Virus (and consequently, an irrational fear of mosquitoes). I'm obviously going to die of swine flu, because apparently contracting scary diseases runs in my family. You're going to be sorry for your insensitive blog post when I'm dead. Maybe you should come visit me now, before it's too late. I feel a little feverish.
I knew you were going to bust me on that one. I better come see you before you become Kansas' third confirmed case.
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