Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Have we died yet?
Swine flu eh? Bloody swine flu.
I must say I learned alot about news reporting from the "pandemic". The look on people's faces when you tell them the death toll is in fact 20.
That is all. All this panic, all this scaremongering, over exactly 20 deaths. People will say "150, 150!" However, this is the amount of people who have died of flu like symptoms in Mexico this year, not a country known widely for it's sterling healthcare (the fact that so many can die of the flu is probably in fact the real story here). The reporting of the swine flu was in such a way you needed to dig down pretty deep to find the actual figures, as opposed to speculative amounts.
There was never any evidence to say this flu was more virulent than any other.
Seasonal flu will kill many, many more than the swine flu this year.
There's two different anti virals known to be helpful with swine flu.
There are reported cases of people simply sleeping it off over a couple of weeks.
So why all this hullaballo?
(On an aside, that is one of my favourite words. I should use it more.)
Without acting all conspiracy theorist, there simply has to be someone benefitting from this.
Is it the news channels? Recession getting on peoples nerves?
Perhaps it is the large pharmas. the company which makes Tamiflu has certainly seen large increases in their share price over the last few weeks.
Regardless, I think this 2-3 year cycle of BSE, SARS, Avian flu et al is really very dangerous. Sooner or later a disease will emerge that we really do have to worry about, and we'll be so used to the warnings we'll just go "meh".
I fear the Armehgeddon more than the Aporkalypse.
I must say I learned alot about news reporting from the "pandemic". The look on people's faces when you tell them the death toll is in fact 20.
That is all. All this panic, all this scaremongering, over exactly 20 deaths. People will say "150, 150!" However, this is the amount of people who have died of flu like symptoms in Mexico this year, not a country known widely for it's sterling healthcare (the fact that so many can die of the flu is probably in fact the real story here). The reporting of the swine flu was in such a way you needed to dig down pretty deep to find the actual figures, as opposed to speculative amounts.
There was never any evidence to say this flu was more virulent than any other.
Seasonal flu will kill many, many more than the swine flu this year.
There's two different anti virals known to be helpful with swine flu.
There are reported cases of people simply sleeping it off over a couple of weeks.
So why all this hullaballo?
(On an aside, that is one of my favourite words. I should use it more.)
Without acting all conspiracy theorist, there simply has to be someone benefitting from this.
Is it the news channels? Recession getting on peoples nerves?
Perhaps it is the large pharmas. the company which makes Tamiflu has certainly seen large increases in their share price over the last few weeks.
Regardless, I think this 2-3 year cycle of BSE, SARS, Avian flu et al is really very dangerous. Sooner or later a disease will emerge that we really do have to worry about, and we'll be so used to the warnings we'll just go "meh".
I fear the Armehgeddon more than the Aporkalypse.
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