Swine influenza proves over-inflated

Staff Editorial

Americans have proven, yet again, our natural inclination towards paranoia. In April of 2009, the swine flu epidemic began generating fear everywhere. Formally known as swine influenza, the disease has had a history of appearing in outbreaks over history. The overreaction that accompanies the swine flu’s appearance is also recurring. According to ABC News, about 600,000 people died in 1918 from the swine flu. In 1976, when the swine flu broke out again, 40 million people got inoculated against the virus. However, only 200 people contracted the virus, and only one death occurred.

In 2009, the first cases of swine flu were discovered in Mexico. As a result, about 57% of Americans wanted to stop flights to Mexico. TV shows, radio programs, and all forms of media began warning the public against this “emerging pandemic.”

Although it can be a dangerous disease, the swine flu was blown out of proportion. Everywhere, people were wearing surgical masks and sanitizing their hands every ten minutes. Schools closed down, and by the first of May, it was predicted that about a quarter of a million students were not in school. Other countries took action to protect against the disease as well. Egypt, for example, ordered the slaughtering of over 300,000 pigs as a precautionary measure before any cases of the flu were discovered in the country.

Although they argued that they were simply practicing caution, these actions were still inconsistent. According to ABC News, about 36,000 people die from the regular flu every year, yet Americans did not adopt these extra precautions until recently, when the swine flu broke out.

Recently, ABC News has reported President Obama stating that the swine flu will “runs its course like ordinary flus.” This so-called “pandemic” is yet another confirmation of our inborn sense of paranoia and fear. The Centers for Disease Control is currently scrambling to assure the public that the flu is not as disastrous as many are making it seem. But it will only be so much time before a different national scare sends us into another overreaction.