Swine Flu: Is the Media Overreacting?

The swine flu. The name itself sounds ugly. Any flu that needs an extra name tacked on to the beginning sounds dangerous. Swine flu; avian flu - anything that doesn't originate from a human must be cause for concern, right? This is where the media comes in causing a stir over something the general public doesn't fully understand. The truth is, the good ol' run-of-the-mill seasonal flu comes with several strains, including the ones that cause both the avian and swine flu.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a flu pandemic comes along approximately every eleven years. Eleven years ago shows like the Fox News Channel weren't around to sensationalize every little newsy sound bite that came its way, and CNN wasn't trying to be hip and competitive. So now that the swine flu pandemic is at our door step once more, are news outlets causing the public unnecessary fear?

Swine flu, otherwise known as influenza A, strain H1N1, is one of the same strains that cause the regular seasonal flu. The H1N1 strain is also one of the subtypes of regular seasonal flu. In 2006, according to the CDC, the H1N1 strain was to blame for about half of that year's flu infections. Every year the world encounters a flu epidemic, killing hundreds of thousands of people world-wide. During times of flu pandemics, this number can rise into the millions.

Every year in the United States, an average of 200,000 people are hospitalized and 36,000 people die from the seasonal flu virus, but you don't hear about these deaths in the news.

It's also odd how the media keeps asking why Mexico is being hit so hard? No matter how the virus arrived in Mexico, it's no secret that poverty in many areas of Mexico will keep people away from doctors and costly anti-viral medicine. Those in poverty-stricken areas are less-likely to have a consistent supply of clean water at their disposal. Therefore, strict hygiene habits aren't a concern, further perpetuating the spread of the virus.

As I write this, the Fox News Channel's website has the following headline: "The swine flu is now passing person to person in the U.S. and the number of confirmed cases has reached at least 64." Could this get any more sensationalized? Let me know when the total reaches closer to 36,000, and maybe then I'll be concerned.

Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/disease.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenzahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_influenza