Swine Flu: Overhyped?

Swine flu, swine flu, swine flu. It seems like that's all you hear about lately. The swine flu has been receiving a lot of coverage ever since the story broke. But to what extent is this coverage informative and helpful...or how much of it just extends the confusion and the general paranoia surrounding the disease?

I still don't completely get why swine flu is a big deal. I understand that it must be, because all the politicians and health professionals seem to be taking it very seriously. All the same, I think it's been blown up a little too much in the media. A couple examples:

The New York Times global front page recently had two stories about the flu: one about school shutdowns in Texas and Mexico and one about China's response to the outbreak. My problem with articles such as the ones above is that they don't properly convey why this is a big deal. The symptoms of the swine flu are like a mild case of influenza. Most people get better without treatment. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there are 109 cases of swine flu in the U.S. as of Thursday. The CDC also reports that 36,000 people in the U.S. die of regular flu each year. So why is swine flu such a threat?

This Q and A from MSNBC does a better job explaining it. I think the most important part of the story is that in Mexico, the people who died from the flu were apparently healthy, young adults-not older people with respiratory problems, as is the case with most flus. If this fact is omitted (which it is in most of the stories I've read), the story just seems to be an overhyped paranoia about a disease that is very similar to the common flu.

Also, many of the stories don't include the symptoms of the disease, which is what readers really want to know. I'm not sure why these seemingly important facts are omitted. Perhaps the reporter believes these facts were already reported and are too obvious to include again? Or maybe since this is breaking news, the reporter is on a short deadline and only has time to report what happened, not why and how? Whatever the reason, I think it's a bit confusing for readers who have not been following the story since the very beginning.

Sources:
Keith Bradsher, "China's Leaders Take Visible Approach to Swine Flu," New York Times
Denise Grady, "Flu prompts shutdown in Mexico, Texas," New York Times
Robert Bazell, "Q & A: Why is Swine Flu a Big Deal?," MSNBC