Perspective

I'm a little jaded by recent media behavior the past couple of years to really take in what they say at 'face value.' By face, I mean the expressions on their face of mock-graveness and discomfort over issues that really are no more significant or bigger than what we already know- it's just different- and the public gets hysterical over the unknown... so it drives up ratings.

I can tell my children that "There are 50 mosquitos in the back yard" with a look of shock and fear, then tell them that mosquitos carry a deadly disease called Malaria, and they will forever be afraid to play in the backyard based on my reaction of fact. But they're too young to understand perspective of sanitation, treatments, and statistics to realize they have to be more worried about tapwater in the bathtub than they do Malaria right now.

So according to the WHO (world health organization) 36,000 people die annually just in the United States from complications to the flu. A.k.a. Influenza. Worldwide is 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.

It's typically seasonal- also seasonal is bird migratory patterns, not coincidental with contracting the flu. The strains of flu originate from bird to human, and then spread human to human with little mutation. However, from time to time in history, as with all organisms, the strains fight for survival, and mutate to be stronger than its host. The latest example of notable information was in Hong Kong where the flu became much stronger and killed 1 Million people in the 1990's. Before that was the Spanish Flu in 1918 which killed 100 Million +.

But right now with "Bird Flu" as it always is, or as we feel more comfortable calling it Influenza A or B, it kills hundreds of thousands worldwide every year.

So it has mutated now from a strain of DNA from bird, now swine, and human. "Swine Flu" however is mutating as it passes from human to human, differing from the strength of the strain from swine to human. And its behavior is unknown as it is new, and curiously it is affecting healthy adults- NOT the immune compromised community. But what is the perspective really?

If you search Influenza on Wikipedia, they have already re-written the description to include the media's screwface which fans the flames of hysteric panics. "Scores have died" in U.S. and Mexico, as if it's already predicting the history books to include a major pandemic of biblical proportions.

Well, a score is 20. So yes, confirmed cases have reported in the 20's of confirmed deaths of this new viral strain H1N1 Influenza. In the U.S. there are 50 confirmed cases, no deaths resulting from it yet. 1,600 suspected cases in Mexico, and more than 2,000 suspected cases in the U.S. That is nowhere near the 36,000 cases of DEATHS from H5N1 Influenza strain every year.

As with any disease, stay at home if you have symptoms! Especially this one, because we just bdon't know about it yet. Keep your organisms to yourself. But even the ones we do know about, I'd rather you don't share them either.

I'm already taking measures of preparedness with things such as food and water storage, medicines, and other supplies for ANY type of catastrophic incident that may cause suffering or inconvenience. But call me a cynic, I'm just not ready to smear lambs blood on my door from the facts that are being said accurately- but interpreted very differently based on expressions and amount of coverage this is getting.