by Christopher Polo

Created on: June 03, 2009   Last Updated: June 05, 2009

Since early this year, swine flu has appeared to take the world by surprise. And in a world of ever increasing globalization, the fear of a highly contagious, fast spreading disease may be well warranted. But, does this new strain of the flu justify widespread public panic? Probably not, especially when weighed in comparison to the regular flu.

Although the virus has remained fairly isolated in Mexico, both the WHO and CDC, expressed concern that a new flu pandemic was "imminent" in April, after confirmed cases in the United States. Soon after, public health experts from around the world seemed to affirm this assessment. They reasoned that because H1N1, or swine flu as it is colloquially know, is a new strain, it would be harder to fight without vaccines or natural antibodies. Coupled with the fact that H1N1 has a higher hospitalization rate than the more average strains of the flu, many began to fear of widespread infection or a pandemic in the United States.

Since its "pandemic status," swine flu has killed about 150 people worldwide, with the majority of the victims from Mexico. In comparison, "ordinary" strains of the flu alone, have claimed over 13,000 lives in just the United States since January. Worldwide, influenza remains as one of the most deadly diseases on the planet, taking between 250,000 to 500,000 lives each year, according to the CDC. Although the potential health effects of a new strain of influenza certainly deserves some consideration, the social and political affects of its somewhat irrational fear greatly outweigh.

Consider the 2005 Bird Flu (or H5N1) scare for example. While it carried all the signs of a "super virus," its spread failed to materialize outside of very limited areas in East Asia. Similarly, the same situation may happen in Mexico. Despite some spread to other countries, swine flu will likely remain a local problem, but its effect on the international community's opinion may wreak social and political havoc before it dies down.

In the United States, the general alarm created in April's announcement, led to the shutdown of several school districts near the border of the United States; on suspicion of infection. Similarly, tourism in Mexico is also down due to the various travel warnings published by public health agencies in the United States and Europe. In some states, sales of surgical masks have risen along with rising symptoms fitting swine flu.

Thus, while "swine" flu may continue to spread, it will likely be dwarfed by the regular flu, which remains one of the leading causes of death in the world. And even though it is the responsibility of organizations like the CDC and WHO to declare the viability of emerging viruses, it does not justify creating a panic. Therefore, it is not just their responsibility to report the facts, but also to explain them in terms the public can understand, so as to avoid unreasonable fear.

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