Global pandemic: (THE) STAND in the place where you live?

The swine flu epidemic down in Mexico is getting scary, with healthy people suddenly dying and soccer games played in empty stadiums as the government closes down places where large crowds congregate. What's more, cases of the virus have been turning up in the US. There have been false alarms about global pandemics before (remember SARS?) but this one has the WHO spooked enough to declare that "these events are of high concern." There have been (at last count) 800 cases of the flu in Mexico, with 60 flu-related deaths and 16 of those definitely caused by the swine flu virus. The disease passes readily between humans, and the fact that the majority of deaths were young people make it more likely that this is a pandemic.

The weather has been getting warmer and this would normally be the time of year when we would be passing out of flu season. Unfortunately, this flu has been spreading into warmer areas - Mexico, California and Texas - so it doesn't look like we can count on heat to wipe it out.


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Technocrati tags: [Pandemic][Swine flu]