by April-Lynn Logan

Created on: June 03, 2009

Influenza pandemics. Well first there was SARS, which caused mass panic in China and Toronto, Ontario. This flu caused approximately 784 deaths world wide, 24 of these were in Canada. Canadian expectations for flu related deaths yearly runs from 500 - 1500 across the country. When looking at these stats it does not seem that bad. There was millions of dollars lost through out many countries for lost production hours, tourist income and travelling services. The flu comes every year, was this worth it?

Now there is the Swine Flu, H1N1, final stats have yet to be released. Every year there are hundreds of strans of the flu that float around, why all of a sudden is there a mass panic? According to a staff report addressed to the board of health by the city of Toronto dated April 21, 2005, there is a reason why the public is being alerted so vigilantly. It states that based on past history of flu epidemics, the Influenza A virus evolves approximately every 3.5 to 4 decades. The last epidemic flu reported was known as the Hong Kong flu and it happened in 1968. If you do the math, we are do.

So right now, there is a panic in the world among health officials, they figure that it is going to happen and they are hoping that being proactive about these new flu strains they may be able to influence or prevent a large death toll. The issue then becomes a question of whether the health of the world is more important than the lost revenue for giving extra hype to every new flu outbreak.

I am of mixed opinion. There is a risk involved either way it is looked at. If this trend continues, that every flu is made out to be an epidemic, then when the "big one" finally hits every day folk, like myself, will not take it seriously. What if SARS had taken millions of lives? What if the swine flu turns out to be the next epidemic? Life is full of these questions. Panic is not always the answer.

I think that the only thing that can be done to prevent this feared situation is something that they are not doing. They talk about prevention after being exposed and during flu times but what about survival. If you watch any news cast about the swine flu, the theme is quite common; wash your hands frequently, stay home if you are sick, avoid hand to mouth contact. Never is there a broad cast that tells you about you best chance of beating the flu; being healthy. If they would spend the time and money focusing on creating a healthier population, then the death toll would inevitably have no choice but to be minimal. Most people that die from the flu have other health issues and/or a weaken immune system. This includes the age factor.

If we had a healthier elderly population, this would help and the same can be said for our children. Eating properly, regular exercise and avoidance of unnecessary drugs are not very commonly practiced. Even for the common cold, a child is prescribed medication, this in itself does not allow the immune system to get the strength to fight. Our immune system learns by practice, if you will, it does not immediately know how to defend the body, but it learns rapidly as different invaders enter the body. Those medications also cause mutations in the viruses that enter the body. They also have a will to survive, which makes them inevitably immune to the original medication.

In conclusion, yes there are risks associated with influenza, but the public panic is not actually solving the issue or preventing the disease. Education on making our nations healthier makes more sense.

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