"Hundreds more cases are suspected," says CNN, "especially in Mexico, where as many as 103 deaths are thought to have been caused by the virus, the country's health minister said. More than 2,000 cases have been reported but not confirmed in the country. Federal officials confirmed 20 new U.S. cases on Monday. A federal official said they were at the same school in New York in which eight U.S. cases were confirmed earlier. More than 100 students at the school were out with flu-like symptoms last week." President Obama has acknowledged the potential danger, but argued that so far, the disease is "not a cause for alarm." It's true that the number of confirmed cases is still relatively small (to get an idea of the geographical range, you can track the spread of the disease on this Google map). And after an emergency meeting on Saturday, the Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) declined to raise their alert from Phase 3. They agreed that "that the current situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern," but held off any further action until more epidemiological data could be gathered.
That never stopped the folks on Twitter, whose ongoing response you can view here. Some of the tweets were essentially breaking news updates. Said @Alonis: "Nebraska is testing more than a dozen specimens for #SwineFlu right now & in Eastern Idaho four residents are being tested for swine flu." Meanwhile, ABC News correspondent David Wright (in his alter identity as @abcdavid) let it be known that the mainstream media considered the illness a big story, but not the big story: "Swine flu in Mexico and along the border - how scared should we be? Tonight on @nightline. (A hint: we're NOT the lead story...)."
Other tweets were more facetious. @TheWaltWhitman suggested a kind of homeopathic response: "In my day, having #swineflu meant you were hankering mightily for a rasher of bacon and a tub of hog lard in which to dip it." Added @bcbishop: "Seems like it's a good time to re-read The Stand."
The Twitter stream also pointed to some additional media responses. Over at Computer World, businesses were advised to grapple with the possibility of mass, flu-driven absenteeism. "It is important to have pandemic contingency plans that define what you would do if the workforce absenteeism rates exceeded 40% or you had to close your offices. As you develop and refresh those plans don't forget that mobile and wireless technology has a part to play," said Gartner analyst Nick Jones in the CW article.
There was also a somewhat defensive post from England's ThePigSite.com: "The pork industry finds itself with a serious public relations problem that is not of its own making and, in reality has nothing to do with pigs--SWINE FLU IS A PIG/PORK PROBLEM IN NAME ONLY! That is the emphatic word over the weekend from both the National Pork Board, the producer checkoff-funded group charged with promoting pork in the US and US pork abroad and conducting production and product research." Leave it to the "website for the global pig industry" to make this impassioned defense of our porcine friends. But they do make an important point: it is the human-to-human spread of the disease, which often mutates once it leaves the animal population, that is of the greatest concern. The pigs are innocent, snorting bystanders.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. Ok I am sick and tired of all you conspiracy theroy idots. Everyone is looking past the fact that this is a genetically made virus from man. To me it is no different than AIDS. With AIDS it is a massive attack on you immune system, spread now several ways. Who thinks the government is behind that. They are not at least not ours. What I do know is it only took one person who was willing to be injected with a fatal virurs and sent to spread it by the most inticing way possible through sex. I personnally see AIDS as the start of a terrorist act and only one person who we will ever know made it a global killer. With the number of countries that hate the US for thier own reasons are suspect for creating such viruses, send out a silent killer that will make people not just die but suffer. I have personally never heard of a way to naturally combine the genes of human, pig, and bird. Comeon really do you think a bird with a virus was eaten or conspired to come together and then a human went and found the one pig that had associated with the devil and eat it. The idea is astronomical that that would happen as where we know that there are those people who would do such a thing to impose a threat since they know a typical attack on the US would be a huge mistake. And for years we have been resented by our neighbors from the south for taking what they claimed to be their land. If it was their land why is it we were able to own it so easily, because they were settelers who felt invaded by new faces and felt as though they were pused out of a place where they essentially just squatted, if this was anyones land it was the american indian. So lets quit thinking our own government is out to get us to inject us with a un-needed drug, and look at this as what it is, a threat to the life of every Man Woman and Child on the planet and first stop the migration of it and contain it to its originating country. YES I say close the borders, for all things including transportation of goods from Mexico to the US and Every other country that deals with Mexico, Then let their government fight it on its own soil, basically in crude terms redirect the threat to where it came from and let it kill of the society of people who thought and breeded this thing. Heartless you say, not from my point of view. If they shall choose to live by the sword they shall die by it. Was it a conspiracy when there were outbreaks of the bird flu, no, there was panic and uncertanty, and a world wide movement to contain and eradicate the threat. Why is this treated different. because everyone is looking at their own country as trying to make a buck off a scare, when infact its not just the US its growing every day and this mean the host has no control anymore, it has been introduced and the race is on. We as humans are suppose to contine to evole and learn from our past, bad or good. As I mentioned AIDS before, this was not considered a desease until it had ten years to spread so wide that containment was a non issue, it was time for the worlds scientists to come together and try and find what the cause was and how to best treat those infected, 30-40 years later we have managed to stall it in those affected but not kill the virus. Then the Bird Flu, that opened eyes all over the world, a non threatening product of many cultures could carry a desease that could kill millions, We learned not to hesitate at a strange unknown virus and take action to stop further infections, as that battle still goes on we now have this one and a name that fits the people who created it Swine Flu, ironic. If the threat was not known or suspected why is it that the Bush Administration spent so much money on a medication that may never be used, they planned ahead and know what the new age terroist is doing now and rather that using the force of the best military in the world to combat the attack they used the minds of the best scientists in the world to create a medication that would kill some of the most potent of germs and bacteria. And the day has come, and I say thank you to the the former President and his administration for looking ahead rather than being caught off gaurd and having to catch up. Now it time to think about us for a change, quit fighting for other people, working to cure all thier problems. They are created as equal as we are they just decided not to use what they have been given to create better safer lives for them selves, they wait for the good old US to let them in or go save them. Not now we need to secure our futures and the ensure a stability in our country before anything else now. We all have people who could get this, and everyone is different and will react differently, some may stave off the affects, where others may harbor them and make them worse because of other viruses they may carry, and next thing you know its a even deadlier virus. I am 36 and have lived my whole life listening to prophecies about the end of time, which is suppose to happen in 2012. Well I believe it all to be B/S and just happenstance that years after some events happened someone found a link, algorythym or hidden messeages. I think there are radicals who are trying to make the prophecy come true and we have seen several examples over the last 10 years in several countries. I plan on seeing 2013,14,15...................... up til around 2050 when I should die by natural causes. And if you disagree with me so be it, but I am not going to take this lightly and others should not either. We know what it is, we have medication, and more in the works readily avaliable in the fall. Now we need to be pro active and take measures as extreme as cutting off our borders and quarintene those who are infected. And to me what is most important is a national registry should be created to allow the public to know if there has been any cases that may cause concern for familiys that may be in the presence of the virus. Just as with AIDS you are leagaly obligated to tell all that you come in contact with of your condition so they could take necessary precautions to not be at risk yet still live and help those that need treatment. I for one will not let my nephew go outside and not wash his hands and arms after interaction in public. It could be spread from a cough, to a sneeze, to a touch. And all though the advise is well stated that those with flu like symptoms should cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, except after they seemingly protect others they have just consintrated all the germs onto the hand that will certainly touch something before there is a chance to wash, therefore what seems like a good idea could be spreading even more. Really if you did sneeze and cover your mouth and were very aware of the risk you would probally try to sanitize your hands asap, in doing so you will no doubt go to the nearest restroom and wash. While along the way even though you saved the immediate people around you from the spray of your sneeze, you on your wy to the restroom have touched the chair to get up, the handrail to hold to, or the door you pushed to get to the restroom to wash up. I say use a tissue and keep a antibacterial gel with you if you feel flu like symptoms. We can't live in fear, although we can fear this and let our fear be a catilyst to be more self aware. To those of you who have encountered this millions from all over the world are praying for you and a resolution. Those of us who have not have the chance to protect ourselves and others. In our Declaration of Independance there is a line written that sums this up. I am not quoting so it may not be perfect so please do not critsie me for a mistake. It says we all come together as one nation, and when and if we are faced with adversity or the threat of war we are bound as citizens of this country to raise arms and fight as well as we can to protect the nation from the threat on our own shores. I am not as elequent of a writer, but basically it says if we are attacked by someone or something on the shores of our country we are empowerd to join in and help fight off the attack what ever that may be. In this case it is a mutant virus someone has created to possibly kill milions. So I will evoke my right to fight this, the first step is this message to get everyone on the same page and forget about conspiracy within the country and look beyond. And the second is to protect my family with the knowledge of how this is spread, what it does, and how to stay safe. And last is to ask you to do the same, because if we are all aware and very cautious it can be contained and defeated by us the citizens of the USA and those in other countries can do the same. Who knew a quote written over 230 years ago about a completely different kind of threat would be related to such a wild strange thing as a genetic virus that would end up being the enemy. There is a place and time for all that happens in the world, these words were meant to be read and understood when time came. And it was a a resolution, not a prophecy made by men who thought they knew everything that would happen they were just setting a standard to be followed to provide security and safety for the citzens of our country. To all out there good luck and be safe.
Posted at 8:40PM on May 2nd 2009 by TIM