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Sorry folks but all of the melodrama over the Swine Flu outbreak is somewhat over done for my liking.
I see a nation which is quite possibly in the grips of a financial crisis with a media backed government struggling to survive when all of a sudden a health scare pops up to divert everyone's attention.
As I see it up to twenty nine people have died from this strain of the Flu virus so far this year. Every year in this country an average of six thousand people die of Flu. Approximately five hundred a month.
There are several media reports out there about the pandemic but personally I am not too worried. The media of course prefer the worse case scenario: - Swine flu: Medical chief orders NHS to prepare for 65,000 deaths - with a toll of as many as 350 a day
My favourite quote from the article above is this one:
The death of 65,000 people in a single flu season - based on the assumption that the contraction-to-death-rate which has occurred in Mexico would be repeated here - would therefore make it the most severe flu outbreak since 1919.
Read that again if you did not see what I mean the first time.
A repeat of the Mexico contraction-to-death-rate (what a nice term) is impossible.
The deaths in Mexico were in really poor rural areas or city slums. poverty in Mexico is grinding. We do not have anything like it here for which we should all be very grateful.
By the way, just so that you know, the origin of last years Flu alert was Somalian flu. You did not read about that in too many places now did you?
