H1N1: Should we be worried?
Chris Turek
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Opinion
In the past year, we have been bombarded with a lot of information about the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. This information is meant to sternly warn usthat this flu strain has the potential to be a deadly epidemic. But should we really be running scared from this particular flu virus, or is the media simply blowing the whole H1N1 matter out of proportion? If you ask me, the media is making the issue out to be a much bigger problem than it really is, just like they have done in the past with other potentially deadly diseases.
One of the main reasons we are told by the media that the H1N1 virus is so potentially deadly is because it is a "mutated" virus strain that the human race has not yet encountered, which, according to the media, could cause a large-scale epidemic. While it is true that the H1N1 virus is a new and mutated flu strain, so are many of the flu strains that will arise during this flu season that we will never hear about. Because of the way viruses reproduce, their genetic makeup constantly mutates and changes, effectively creating thousands of "new" flu strains that the human race has never seen before.
So then why should we be worried about the H1N1 strain more than the other flu strains? If we haven't seen these other strains before either, and they all have the same potential to cause an epidemic as the H1N1 virus, then we, as a race, must be looking at the end of life as we know it. Unless, of course, this whole H1N1 issue is being greatly exaggerated by the media, in which case this year's flu season is not going to be significantly different from last year's season... or the season before that... or the one before that.
Remember the big avian flu scare that we had a few years back? People were freaking out because there were not enough avian flu vaccines to go around, and they feared a huge avian flu epidemic. Remember what happened? Not much. Some people caught the avian flu, and a few people died from the avian flu. Not to belittle the value of those people's lives, but thousands of people die from the so-called "regular" flu each year. The avian flu scare wasn't even the first time the media has blown a disease out of proportion. Just look at the West Nile virus, or even SARS. Did some people get these diseases? Yes. Did some people die from these diseases? Unfortunately, yes. Was there a nationwide SARS or West Nile epidemic that claimed thousands of lives? No; not even close. But if you were to take the media's every word as fact, then you would think the end of days was upon us. Instead, the same thing happened to West Nile that happened to the avian flu and SARS, and the same thing is probably going to happen again to H1N1 because, as we all know, history repeats itself. So if the media expects me and everyone else to worry about catching the swine flu just because they say it is going to be devastating, then they are going to be disappointed, because there is no rational reason to be more worried about the H1N1 flu than any of the other thousands of flues you can catch this season. I'm not going to get a special vaccine for H1N1, and I'm not particularly worried about catching it, because there are literally thousands of other flu strains that I can catch. Everyone should just calm down, take a deep breath, and focus their time and energy on something that is actually important.
One of the main reasons we are told by the media that the H1N1 virus is so potentially deadly is because it is a "mutated" virus strain that the human race has not yet encountered, which, according to the media, could cause a large-scale epidemic. While it is true that the H1N1 virus is a new and mutated flu strain, so are many of the flu strains that will arise during this flu season that we will never hear about. Because of the way viruses reproduce, their genetic makeup constantly mutates and changes, effectively creating thousands of "new" flu strains that the human race has never seen before.
So then why should we be worried about the H1N1 strain more than the other flu strains? If we haven't seen these other strains before either, and they all have the same potential to cause an epidemic as the H1N1 virus, then we, as a race, must be looking at the end of life as we know it. Unless, of course, this whole H1N1 issue is being greatly exaggerated by the media, in which case this year's flu season is not going to be significantly different from last year's season... or the season before that... or the one before that.
Remember the big avian flu scare that we had a few years back? People were freaking out because there were not enough avian flu vaccines to go around, and they feared a huge avian flu epidemic. Remember what happened? Not much. Some people caught the avian flu, and a few people died from the avian flu. Not to belittle the value of those people's lives, but thousands of people die from the so-called "regular" flu each year. The avian flu scare wasn't even the first time the media has blown a disease out of proportion. Just look at the West Nile virus, or even SARS. Did some people get these diseases? Yes. Did some people die from these diseases? Unfortunately, yes. Was there a nationwide SARS or West Nile epidemic that claimed thousands of lives? No; not even close. But if you were to take the media's every word as fact, then you would think the end of days was upon us. Instead, the same thing happened to West Nile that happened to the avian flu and SARS, and the same thing is probably going to happen again to H1N1 because, as we all know, history repeats itself. So if the media expects me and everyone else to worry about catching the swine flu just because they say it is going to be devastating, then they are going to be disappointed, because there is no rational reason to be more worried about the H1N1 flu than any of the other thousands of flues you can catch this season. I'm not going to get a special vaccine for H1N1, and I'm not particularly worried about catching it, because there are literally thousands of other flu strains that I can catch. Everyone should just calm down, take a deep breath, and focus their time and energy on something that is actually important.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Conan
posted 11/05/09 @ 9:06 AM EST
Clearly, you did not research the subject well enough before you wrote about it. I am even questioning if you know what the word epidemic means? Many people including the media have used the word incorrectly so you would not be the first. (Continued…)
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