H1n1: A Disease That Affect Us All

There is wide spread concern about the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus.  People are buying disinfecting products and hand sanitizer in record amounts.  The Center for Disease Control(CDC) most recent chart shows a dramatic surge in reported visits for influenza-like symptoms.  We are now well about the CDC’s “baseline” and are approaching the 52-week high achieved in February of this year. 

There is a proliferation of incorrect information that the individual must wade through to find real facts that we need to know to make intelligent, rational choices as to what we need to do and what we need to avoid.  (I address some of this in my article “Swine Flu- Pandemic or Panic-demic?” as an individual who “probably” has contracted the H1N1 virus.)  I have even heard of “special speakers” at churches using this outbreak as a platform (most likely to fatten their wallets) to say it is a part of the prophecy from Revelation, a heresy in my humble opinion which leaves a bad smell about their teaching .  While videos such as this one from You Tube are funny, they also have a ring of truth to them that is not quite as funny and gives us another disappointment in how the government  has responded (we have a vaccine shortage in the US but are giving our vaccines to other countries?) when you take the time to think about it.

The folks have to really search or see a professional (your doctor or possibly pharmacist) to find quality, reliable information on this disease.  This consumes resources of both time and money.  The truth of it is, this virus, for most people, is not a deadly one.  And there are many simple things we can do to avoid contracting it, which I also discuss in my article. 

And this is a seasonal problem that we will likely only have to deal with for a few more months at best.  If the virus could have been isolated several weeks sooner than it was it would have been included in the seasonal flu shot.  Therefore, in future flu season we’ll probably have far fewer worries about having to take extra precautions and getting separate vaccines.

The purpose here is a simple: I implore you, again as someone that most likely has contracted the virus and is still as of this writing recovering from it, to notget caught up in the hype of “disease de jour”.  Be vigilant, be careful, be cautious, but don’t get sucked in by the panic and alarmist media that is so widespread on the Internet and the media in general.