by Lovia Larkin

Created on: May 29, 2009   Last Updated: May 30, 2009

Does the risk of influenza justify causing public panic? No. A better question regarding the latest scare would be: can television, radio, journalists and politicians justify their climbing ratings by causing a public panic? The answer to both questions is no. I have heard the latest flu bout called everything from an outbreak to an epidemic. The constant barrage of media attention has blown the whole thing completely out of proportion. In a society that has many more important and worrisome problems, it is a travesty to bombard the public with misinformation to for no other reason make something simple sensational.

As a society we have become "germ-phobic" to the point of being a detriment to our health. Bottled water, antibacterial hand soap, lotions, sprays and wipes, antibiotics galore have all attributed to the decline of our natural defenses against disease. An epidemic battle cry is not the answer.

Each year, in the United States, on average 36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. Over 90% of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalization occur in people older than 65. Those are the results from an "average" flu season. The H1N1 or swine flu has not or is not expected to result in this amount of devastation. The manner in which the swine flu was reported was not journalistic in nature, but theatrical and caused undue panic.

An interesting component of the swine flu is that there appears to be a natural antibody in many of those over sixty, most of the infections and resulting deaths from this flu (well under 36,000) were of individuals between the ages of 5 and 24. This is interesting because generally the deaths occur in those over 60. Somewhere in the past before we started sterilizing everything, individuals developed antibodies to this specific type of flu.

While every individual should be concerned about their health, we need to turn away from sensationalism and turn to common sense. The flu outbreaks and threatened outbreaks should be noted and the public should be informed; but it should not cause an epidemic of panic and worry that leads individuals to rush to the doctor at a mere sniffle and ultimately damaging their own immune system and the bodies ability to fight infections and create antibodies.

A more responsible approach to the one that is currently being lambasted across the airwaves would be to alert people and give them proper instructions and information regarding influenza. Common sense is slowly being eroded by sensationalism and it is damaging the health of the nation.

It is irresponsible and damaging to create an unnecessary panic, to release incorrect information prior to checking out facts and creating a situation wherein the public becomes inundated with "fear" to the point that the quit listening. Pressing the panic button too many times with influenza is the same as the little boy who cried wolf one too many times; the public will quit listening and it will be at a time when there truly is reason to panic.

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