TheBiologySpace.BioBlog

There is only 331 cases as of two days ago? No way! From what the media makes it out to be, it seems like it has been kind of common. I heard there were cases of a couple of people dying in Richardson, but that can’t be right due to the fact that only one person has died in the U.S. Got to love news drama.

I think the media is hyping up the swine flu too much. Though it is dangerous like many other viruses, they are making it appear like if somone gets it then they WILL die. However, all those that have died have either recieved poor care or recieved it much too late. I dont think the swine flu is as serious as other pandemics or deadly viruses.

Flu happens every year, this one isn’t much different than the rest. Flu will continue to come and go for forever. Why this is much more concerning is because it is affecting a lot more younger people than everyone else. Also the media is making the swine flu more panicked and making people more desperate to not get the flu.

The media is helping to keep the public informed about the progress of the swine flu. At the same time though the media is creating some panic in the public. At first I believe that the media was causing more harm than good, but not the media has lightened up a little and isn’t pushing the issue as much. I believe that media is allowed to keep us informed about I don’t think that they should be able to tell us what to do, I think that the health and disease organizations should be telling what to do and when and how long to do that process.

I think that all these school closings are unnecessary and that the media has sparked a panic. Closing an entire district wow!, now I think that is totally ridiculous. The differece between an entire district or one school closing is huge. Where are all the students going to go while school is closed. Also you have to ask how long are the schools going to end up being closed for the decontamination.

This version of swine flu is certainly threatening because no one has created a specific vaccine for this case. However, I believe that this has been blown way out of proportion and if everyone takes some simple precautions, like washing their hands, then they will be in good health.

That is a pretty sad way to go. At the body’s attempt to protect you, it ends up killing you.

I think the media has definitely done its part of warning people of the particular dangers of this swine flu. However, they blew it way out of proportion and probably frightened people about the possibility of death on every news channel. On the other hand, fear might be the only way to induce people to heed their warnings.

The media’s role in spreading the news about the flu is very crucial in trying to contain and slow it down, therefore saving more lives. The amount of press coverage is adequate to protect the public. The public should be scared of a pandemic and it’s proving to be a very effective way of counter acting it. People just have to take simple precautions and if the don’t hear about it from the news how else are they going to know?

The media doesn’t have the option of not informing the public about public health emergencies. Fundamentally this is why we have the media. It is a means to quickly inform the public of crucial information that will affect their lives and the nation. The media plays a crucial role in today’s society in this sense and they have the responsibility to inform the public about public health emergencies.

Although I feel the media is responsible for informing the public about pandemics to in the end slow them down and save lives, I do agree with these guys in the swine flu’s case. It is only the flu, just a more contagious one, and just because you get it doesn’t mean you’re going to die. The media may be being a little over zealous with this one.

Yeah it is pretty ironic in its self. You would think the body would have some way of counteracting this reaction but maybe the virus is inhibiting it somehow?

I agree with tiffany that this is made to look worse than it is. From what i have heard it is just like the normal flu with a couple additives. What bothers me is the concerns in schools with how serious it is, and the risk of death. I have heard that the people who become very ill and die are either very young and have weak immune systems or older people with the same problem (weak immune systems) I cant understand the major concern and why some schools are closed. Besides weren’t there more deaths in the winter seasons with the regular flu?

I learned about the flu epidemic of 1918 in anatomy class and all i can say is no wonder the swine flu is causing a stir in today’s society. The same strain H1N1 that is found in today’s swine flu is the same strain found in the Spainish Flu way back then. Although there has not been that many people who have died from the today’s swine flu, it is a really good idea to try and contain the infected in they’re own homes to keep from spreading the disease.

I agree that the media has done it’s job in warning people, but at the same time they are making matters worse. The fear in people increases from the news cast, we tend to trust them to the facts when sometimes it is not always true. I think they have stepped over the line a little in this case, but also are trying to just warn people. Their sources are not always correct and we still believe it, altough it is their job to give us any information they can. In this i think they are causing more harm than good.

I have heard that the virus is actually starting to attack people between eighteen and thirty years of age, and it seems to be worse for them. Since their ammune system function so well the viruse causes the system to hyperactivate and then causes fluid to build up in their lungs. Weird stuff….

I heard that they are calling this flu a pandemic as well. They think that it has the same kind of pattern as the serious flus, such as the one from 1918. They are saying that it is going to come back stronger by reforming itself during the summer, and then by the winter it will hit. But they also said that unlike 1918, we will be ready for this virus, and that we will most likely have a vaccination for it by the fall.

The media is just doing their job. If they don’t blow something that might be insignificant out of proportion, then when it turns out to be something very significant, they get blamed for not making it a big deal. It’s a catch 22, really. The news is contradictory in most cases; one station says “don’t panic” while another says “panic” and another says “here’s a list of precautions” and the advice goes on.

The swine flu is not as big a deal as the regular flu. It is actually a weaker strain than the regular flu, the only concern is that the virus is a new strain of swine flu and can possibly mutate by its second wave and become a deadlier virus. CNN reports that an average of 36000 people die from seasonal flu every year. Those numbers dwarf the swine flu’s death tole, even tho there are far fewer people who are affected by the swine flu.

I want to know how many cases of swine flu that would have to be present in collin county for them to close down all the schools. I think as student we could use the scare to our advantage.

Even though before I said that the news blowing it out of porportion was unnecessary, there is a positive to come out of it. It encourages scientists to work even harder to find a cure for the disease and not have another uncontrolling virus spread across the country like back in the early 1900’s. It’s like the high gas prices the summer of 2008. The media talked about it all the time and would never drop the subject. However, the effect of the drama was car manufacturers have been coming up with new ideas for an alternative fuel source. Its just the same way for the swine flu.

Does anyone know what the specific type of symptoms of swine flu is compared to other types of flus? I think this new epidemic of the swine flu is something to be cautious of, but I don’t think it is something new. There has been countless events over the course of human history where humans encountered a new type of disease, but due to the evolution of humans, the present day man’s/woman’s body has adapted to the previously life -threatening illnesses of the past. Of course, viruses and bacterias also have that ability to evolve into order to better adapt to their environment so they won’t suffer extinction. However, in this day and age, I believe medical science and technology has helped us to counteract with more ease against the new and future coming diseases.

the swine flu is a contagion that should not be taken lightly, as the virus is relatively young, and has a definite chance to cause harm to America and the rest of the world. because the media has perpetuated the virus to a point where the public loses interest in the virus, the public is very vulnerable to a outbreak of swine flu.

seeing how the virus triggers the human immune system in a cytokine storm, it would be impossible or near impossible to stymie the virus once the patient has a anaphylactic response to the virus, which puts even more pressure on researchers and scientists everywhere to invent a successful vaccine to prevent the spread of the swine flu. We can only hope the virus mutates to a harmless form or could be contained by methods of prevention.

Personally, i believe this pandemic is indirectly assisting this great recession in America.
For some reason now, people in America have realized that it is essential to our health to wash our hands. Almost all convenient stores have sold out of hand sanitizer…
Maybe we should make up some disease and tell everyone the cure is to go out and buy some expensive prevention. IT’S PERFECT!

No but in all seriousness i’m glad the media has spread the news of this virus and actually taking measures in keeping citizens safe – for example shutting down schools in certain locations and canceling large gathering athletic events.

Better late than never that’s what i always say… wait…
better safe than sorry…
one of the two… i forget…

If there were reported cases in Allen, I would be freaking out. I would be so nervous about contaminated food at restaurants that I would have to eat at my house all the time. After a while, eating at the same place gets boring.

So if it’s your immune system attacking your body, would it be helpful to not take care of yourself so you could lower your immune system? It makes sense since it can’t fight properly.

The media has definatly covered all bases in the coverage of the flu. They have been informing the public very well but they have also created a panic that has the public extremely health conscious. I believe informing the public of the disease is important but the public needs to know the severity of the disease. Since this disease hasn’t killed many in the US I think being conscious is important but letting it rule your life is too much.

I think it is a very bad idea to ignore this outbreak of flu. The flu pandemic in 1918 came in two waves. The 2nd wave mutated into a deadlier form and occured later on in the year. This virus has the ability to do the same and could become much more grave, especially if it just brushed off.

I agree with Katie that it does seem a bit preposterous for the schools to be closing down over something that has caused less deaths in comparison to the normal flu, though in reality, the scientists investigating this “pandemic” originally thought it to be more virulent than now discovered. Circa 1970’s, I believe it was, there was an outbreak of swine flu and it was nasty from what I’ve heard from other adults, and then it just subsided with vaccination and time; Though this form is a mutated strand and taking the necessary precautions for something possibly deadly is simply better safe than sorry, since we’re still not 100% sure what we’re dealing with here.

I think the media has majorly over exaggerated the Swine Flu threat- instead of saying “it’s killed 13 people”, they SHOULD be saying it’s “ONLY killed 13 people”. And I don’t know, even if this is hard science, that I believe this “strongest immune systems fall the hardest”.=/ Because the one who died in America was a two year old boy. Do babies suddenly have the strongest immune systems?
Also, the closing of the schools didn’t help anything. Kids weren’t about to stay inside for the entire time they had off. They ran about, and met with their friends. The Swine Flu will get around, and I don’t think it’ll do much damage.

All the major hype about this particular flu is blown out of proportion, but only marginally. People do need to be aware, but there’s also the question of the validity of the information they’re receiving. If enough hype is created, the more people will take precautions and the less of an outbreak we’ll have.

I think the media is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do: inform the public, but at the same time it is also creating a lot of unnecessary panic. And a lot of that might be the publics’ fault because they either don’t have any of the facts or they have faulty ones. If people actually understand this swine flu then I don’t think that they would be as paranoid about it. But I also agree with Matt that this might actually have a positive effect by causing scientists to find a cure for this flu faster.

Another thing about shutting down entire school districts is that kids don’t just congregate in schools. They have other activities that they take a part in and that is just another way that they could possibly get sick. There just isn’t a way to prevent the kids from meeting up. And with the addition of siblings in a family there is a possibility to spread the flu even faster. And I agree with David that there is a huge difference between closing down a school and closing the whole district. Closing down the whole school district for one case, I think, is unnecessary and even useless.

Well now that the virus has been pretty contained, looking back at the news coverage, it all seemed to be blown way out of proportion. The virus essentially only caused a very minimal amount of deaths. But the scary thing about all this is the panic that spread so rapidly. Imagine if this had been something way more serious than a strain of flu. Most likely it’d never happen, but think about the anthrax scare. If that had spread as rapidly as the swine flu, we would have been in big trouble.

Again, the whole swine flu scare has blown over, but yeah it was definitely not as severe as it was made out to seem. I agree with Katie and Tiffany. The symptoms were pretty much the same as the regular flu, it just came at an odd season and there was no vaccine for it. And the people that have died probably were not properly cared for, which would make any virus or illness regardless of its severity in symptoms potentially deadly

Well I think that people let their political bias influence their health, especially in this case. Although it depends on what media your’re watching, I think that the media does need to stress the urgency of the situation to propell the population to be concerned and take extra care of their health, such as washing their hands more etc. I think it is better to play it safe rather than to be sorry. period.

331 people around the world have contracted the virus and 13 have died. Are you kidding me? More people die from much more common illnesses than this daily. Why are we so concerned with this “pandemic” while we could be providing simple treatment in poorer countries to treat the most common illness which could potentially save hundreds if not thousands of lives?

The press coverage is doing more harm than it is good. It seems as though they are exaggerating it so much that the public is now beyond paranoid, even to the point where entire institutions have been shut down. The truth is only one person has died from the swine flu in the U.S. and more people die from the normal flu.

It’s kind of interesting commenting on this story after the whole “scare” has reached its climax. One day the schools close and the next a principal is stuck in Las Vegas, too late to come back to school after the sudden reopening. I agree and virus should be handled with great care, but the whole time people were running around carelessly. The media doesn’t help at all and nor do the health care organizations. I felt like there was some sort of secret that the public wasn’t aware of, but it turns out we knew all the needed info. People claim that the swine flu is one nobody had seen, but the major strain that hit this year with the regular flu was also a mutated version that caused patients taking specific antibiotics to have tragic counter reactions to the usual drugs.

The swine flu is an overrated virus that is not as bad as the media makes it out to be. Just because two people in the entire district has the swine flu it doesn’t mean they need to shut the district down. Chances are that those two people don’t come in contact with over three fourths of the people in the entire district.

The media loves to overreact about news. This is a new virus and they feel that it is necessary to worry the public about getting sick. If you get sick you just need to go to the doctor and they can give you medicine to heal you before it gets worse.

So what scientists are trying to figure out is how to kill the virus once it is infected and to invent a vaccine to prevent the virus from attacking the body. Could scientists somehow develop technology to rid the body of lymph (especially in the lungs)? Then the death rate would not be so high, especially in so short a time span. Viruses I find to be more interesting because they aren’t alive yet can cause pain and panic when they spread their DNA into other cells. But yes, as I learned in my Physiology and Anatomy class this past 6 weeks, this strain of flu causes the immune system to kick into overdrive and produce too much lymph to protect the body, and instead of destroying foreign substances, it ends up destroying the body as it clogs the lungs with excess fluid.

The media definetly had a major influence in spreading the news about the flu like a wildfire. I mean I know after I first read about the swine flu I was freaking out. It definetly created a huge panic for the public but I believe its better to be safe than sorry. I believe the press coverage helped more than hurt the public as now we are more alert to the dangers and will take more preparations to protect ourselves rather than ignore it.

I believe that its honestly better to be safe than sorry. If our entire district was shut down for a case of swine flu I mean I wouldnt complain. Shutting down the schools however would still not stop students from meeting up but at least their meetings would be less populated than the schools would so it would still be effective in stopping the spread of the virus.

This is ridiculous. Yes, the swine flu can kill, however, the media is blowing the disease up. Even when finding the death toll, of course the numbers are going to be high, for the media is looking for deaths. Tuberculosis, for example, is a disease most people are familiar with and is airborne just as the swine flu is. Yet, in a survey of 25 countries, it was reported that 31 cases of swine flu ended in death while tuberculosis claimed 60,000 deaths. So the media should have shown the tuberculosis cases right? Wrong. In an algorhithm, it was calculated that the ratio of new reports to deaths was for tuberculosis/swine flu = 1/8176. over 8000 times longer have swine flu cases taken the media space for 31 people whereas 60,000 people died for a single moment in media history. The media is blowing this out of porportion.

Source:
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/swine-flu-alert-news-death-ratio-tuberculosis/

Would this disease be counted as the anti-A.I.D.S.? Since its seen that the T cells and their macrophages are the prime factor in which this disease progresses, would one who has a lack of these T cells be able to survive the swine flu? It seems improbable since an A.I.D.S. patient tends to be very weak due to the disease, however if this is possible then a possible cure for swine flu can be created. How you may ask? If the swine flu can be killed in A.I.D.S. patients, then a small dosage of an imitation A.I.D.S. could be implemented in the swine flu victims, after first being placed in a sterile environment. Then after the flu is treated then the body can re-create its T cells and become healthy again.

Although it seems that the swine flu has been blown out of proportion, an opinion i share, but I can see why we are taking such percautions. If the schools hadn’t shut down, and then a bunch of children got infected with the flu, then there would be many angry and disgruntled prents that would most likely blame the school for their children getting sick. The schools did this so that they couldn’t get blamed. I also don’t agree with hiding from the flu, its just an illness that our society will most likely find a vaccine for, and then we will all be fine.

Even though this flu could mutate and become deadly, it is no reason to hide and wear masks and shutdown schools when any other flu virus can do the same thing and so can many other viruses, a simply exageratted response to something that is not serious yet actually makes it worse.

there are probably more cases of swine flu than 331, the poor in Mexico and US do not have access to healthcare, and do not report a incident of swine flu once they contract it. Plus, I am pretty sure that Mexico doesn’t want to report any enormous number in the thousands to scare potential tourists away, as it is almost summer time.

I am a little confused why putting the word “swine” in front of “flu” scares people so much. Many people don’t even get the regular flu shot even though it kills people every year. I wonder if flu shots would increase next year if resistance from swine flu was included and advertised. It was the same with the bird flu a few years ago. Put an animal in front of “flu” and you’ll be sure to create panic. Next time let’s at least choose a cool animal like the platypus.

yeah, i guess viruses don’t mutate for the better of mankind, which raises the interesting question: are viruses alive or dead?
they are basically just strains of DNA or RNA floating around with a simple membrane, since all they are is a strain of DNA, how does it die, and more importantly, how could a strain of DNA be alive? because if we say a strain of DNA enclosed in a membrane is life, then how do we as humans die? Because even after we die, our DNA is still preserved in a membrane…

right now, there is no reason to parallel the swine flu to the pandemic of 1918, the swine flu outbreak or lack thereof is still in its early stages.

So does this mean that people with subuded immune systems due to other illnesses like HIV or RA are better off when it comes to viruses like H1N1. Or would the viruses then be the cause of death instead of the cytokine storms.

The media is just carrying out its duty by covering the flu but it is the people that are in a constant state of panic and fear. The media must inform the public with accurate and adequate information and it does the public good because they wont be clueless to what is going on around them. Constant coverage on 24-hour news stations is a bit excessive, they should do a center piece on the flu and its consequences and prevention methods, then address it later not constantly.

This is one of the most ironic ways to die. I mean, the immune system, built to protect the body, kills the body instead. To be fair, this is a characteristic of autoimmune diseases, but I had no idea that you could contract one; I thought that they were genetic or something.

I think that shutting down schools would be a necessity, as I heard either in Biology or in my health class that the swine flu is an airborne pathogen, meaning that if a person with it was in a crowded building, trying to get to class, the people who he/she would pass by might contract the virus, and then they would spread it, until everyone had it. That sounds much less fun than merely shutting school down for a few days.

I agree with Jesse in that Mexico’s economy is partially based on tourism. During this pandemic they probably tightened up healthcare for the poor however the numbers are still rising because some people dont report it

Even though what jesse said is right i believe even at early stages diseases can carry similar symptoms from those we have experienced in the past. Extensive research is the only key to determining the real cause of this.

I totally agree with Glenn Eric. What was even more ironic is that when the schools shut down with disregard to whether or not businesses shut down just completely ruined the whole idea. Children weren’t encouraged to stay inside. When school let out masses just made their ways to the movies or the mall. It kind of defeated the whole pandemic idea.

I agree with Angeleen and Lauren. The media is desperate for a good story and enjoys creating a feeling of panic. I became worried when schools were shutting down, but I have decided this action is too extreme. The actions taken should be similar to those during the flu season. I also think that people should use hand sanitizer more often to limit the spread of the flu.

I believe that the media has done more harm than good with coverage of the swine flu outbreak. The media is only out to report on news that will get viewers rather than news that matters. The swine flu would be much less interesting to viewers if the media didn’t report it as a pandemic, giving updates on the death toles everyday. The swine flu is a serious disease but there are measures being taken to prevent its spread and overreacting isn’t going to help at all.

Hmmm…. well i personally think that this entire situation has been blow way out of proportion. This media induced hysteria is a a ploy by the international banking elite, to take over the world…. sorry my conspiracy theory Tourettes is acting up. anyways I really do believe that this whole situation has just made America panic and make fools of ourselves. The media simply throws warnings around with no basis.

I think people should calm down and not panic just yet. I know that 13 people have died, but only one of those people was in the U.S. I do think people should exercise caution when deciding to take a trip to Mexico. Also travel should be limited.

My mom, who is a nurse (as of today!) believes that those who contracted and survived this version the flu will be much better equipped to deal with the next one that this is bound to mutate into. With epidemics, there are usually two waves, and while the first one is frightening, the second one is usually much worse. (Basically, we’re all gonna die.)

(eventually.)

Jesse makes a good point about not wanting to scare off tourists. The response by the pork industry to the name ’swine flu’ was pretty hilarious.

The percentage of people who die from this flu is (if I can do math) about 4%. That seems really low, especially in light of the ridiculous amount of media attention.

In all reality….13??? really.. seriously more people die by donkey every year. I think that the media has in fact blown this out of proportion. If every event that resulted 13+ deaths was reported on the news as much as this, there would be no time for regular programing. I do think that it is very unfortunate that death has occurred, i must say that if this was as serious as it has said to be, more people would be suffering from this flu.

BJ’s statistic proves the point that the media can be an effective way of providing information. While the Swine epidemic is the one everyone is worried about the media said that over 30,000 die from different forms of influenza each year and this is the type of news we need. We the need the media to give us accurate and unbiased information so that the people can be educated on the subject.

I personally think the media is bored and had nothing better to do so they decided to try and cause a world wide panic about the swine flu. My brother was watching CNN and they said it’s not even as bad as the flu we’re used to! People are overreacting, behaving like the U.S. is a third world country and can’t handle protecting its citizens from a virus. If the media really wants to fufill its duty of informing the American people, they need to stop exaggerating to sell papers and start telling us the cold hard facts.

I agree that shutting down entire school district is unnecessary when only one student was found to have the swine flu in the district. Santoshi pointed out that shutting down schools does not stop kids from meeting up with each other at other places like malls, restaurants, and other non-districts events.

We need the media to get the information to the public about the flu. Appropriate press coverage can help make the public aware of the swine flu and take precautions when they are out in public areas. The current outbreak is not as bad as the media makes it sound.

This is what scares me the most. The fact that it’s the people’s own immune system that is killing them is shocking. It makes me wonder if this could happen with any other virus, I mean why is this one so different. What if in the future another mutation of the flu comes over and the same thing happens again. It is just scary that what is supposed to be protecting us actually has the potential to kill us as well.

hmmm, while this “pandemic” seems to be deadly from all of the mass hype on television and within the community, i still find if difficult to get the fear to rise in my blood. 331 cases and people are wearing masks.. wow

there are precautions that are needed to be met, however, i dont think the way to go about this is to scare everyone on this planet half to death about this virus. jesse’s right, the flu is in its early stages. i will start wearing a mask when there’s over 500 cases of this flu. plus, hasnt flu season been dwindling?

The media has definitely done its job in informing the public about public health emergencies but maybe they just did it a little too well. The swine flu disease doesn’t seem to be causing all the notable panic but rather the media itself. The excessive, endless press coverage appears to just be making the public more anxious. I mean I guess they’re just trying to prepare us for the worst, but if we really want preparation then why don’t the scientist begin developing a vaccine before a possible pandemic?

The media played a huge role in the over dramatization of this “epidemic” the cases have ALREADY stopped spreading for the most part and no one U.S. or European citizen have died from this. The one death in the U.S. came from a child that had come of from Mexico after already being infected and letting the case get worse. The media probably overdid it a bit but, even the president called this an epidemic which causes Americans to be on high alert.

I think the best part of the public media, is that even if the right information is being put out, more popular news casts and comedy skits blur the line of what this epidemic is. In anatomy we discussed the actual inflamatory response, and not that i actually wish that some one contracts this flu, but its a complitment to the bodies immune system-it works too well.

How would they be able to generate a vaccine when the cause of the deaths are these cytokine storms, not the actual virus attacking the cells? Wouldn’t they need something to slow down an immune system response AFTER one is infected? I guess it’s just confusing..

I agree with everyone in that the media way overreacted. I understand that its a pandemic, but honestly thousands of people a day die of other diseases. These are the diseases that should be getting the attention and having vaccines created for them.

As some other students have mentioned before, i also think that the attention that media has paid to this pandemic is a bit too much. This attention is the main cause of the increased hysteria at the sound of swine flu. Although one case of swine flu is serious to the person’s surroundings, i do think it is a bit too much to close down an entire district for one such case in the area.

The media has done more harm than good recently. The media has done and outstanding job at informing the public and protecting them, but the over attention to this particular disease has caused the public to go into protection over-drive. The cancellations of school and events, and other such giant steps have been inconvenient rather than helpful in maintaining the pandemic.

Comparing the swine flu to the flu pandemic of 1918 is scary and somewhat accurate. The medical treatments for this kind of pandemic has advanced since 1918 and so it shouldn’t cause as much hysteria and grief as in those days. Again the point has been stated that swine flu is still in it’s early stages and trying to be efficiently contained, so there isn’t much chance at it being a pandemic that could have a death toll of millions.

I think that the media and the people or blowing up this flu to be a huge thing that it isn’t. I must say they are doing their job, but I think they are manipulating people. It has killed 12 in Mexico where there resources are limited and their lifestyles aren’t that good as ours. There has been one case in the US where tragedy has struck, but lets think about her condition. She was a woman in her thirties with “chronic underlying health conditions.” So her death may not have just been swine flu. I think that the media was trying to make people aware, which they did and is their duty, but I still find that this was blown up a bit.

This is pretty terrifying. Especially since we are adolescents ourselves; ironically being more prone to attracting the virus with our stonger, developing immune system. We have come to trust our healthy immune systems and it is so shocking that it has betrayed us.

It is good of the media to inform the public, but it is a fine line between that and feeding peoples fears and causing panic. The media AND the medical comunity should inform people on how to avoid getting sick, while still living their normal lives.

I believe that the decision to close schools, was a decision well made. I mean “no school” is great news all on its own… but closing school for the purpose of deterring the spread of a virus is even better. We’d all like to think that the importance of the swine flu is just the result of the media’s exaggeration, but the truth is that the virus is very dangerous and our age and strong immune systems only make us a greater target.

I agree with the fact that there are probably other diseases that kill more people in a day than the swine flu does, and that probably deserve more attention, but i also believe that there is adequate reason to be fearful of the swine flu.

For one, i don’t recall any virus being so close to home. I mean, nearby cities and schools being shut down… that’s pretty scary. Second of all… those that normally would not be suseptable to viruses (the young, those with strong immune systems) are now the targets. And third, the swine flu and the common cold share the same symptoms. You could think that you have the common cold and then find out that its the swine flu when it’s too late. It’s so easy to spread.
AND on top of everything… theres to vaccine.
PANIC!!!

The media is doing exactly what it’s suppossed to do… inform the public. And yea, they may be exaggerating… a little… but its a GOOD thing. Intensifying the danger of the swine flu will only ensure that the public is more cautious.

When a person doesn’t get enough sleep, their body’s immune system is reduced to about half of its original power. So perhaps those infected with the swine flu could just get a lot less sleep that way they won’t die due to their own immune system.

The media has done a great job in spreading the news. In fact I found out about swine flu when signing to my yahoo mail account. It his helping keep people aware, whether people totally flip out is an issue of their own. The media should help offer ways to keep themselves protected from the virus so everyone will take precautions, but also remind them that only 331 people out of billions have it and they shouldn’t think the world is coming to an end.