Swine Flu Fear Spreads

Fear of a possible Swine Flu pandemic is now spreading across the world. And while the deaths appear to be localized to the point of origin which appears to be in Mexico, cases have been reported in California which is near by, New York which isn't and Kansas also not and normally though of as fly over territory.

Penetration into diverse point within the US suggests that the disease is communicable and able to leap tall buildings so to speak. The good news is that the disease has apparently a short incubation period of three days according to a NYC health Department spokesperson in a presentation on Saturday regarding the school children there believed to be NYC's victims.

A short incubation period means people are less likely to expose as many others as they might with a longer period before symptoms appear. The other good news is that the cases in the US so far appear to be milder that those in Mexico. This could indicate a weakening of the strain over time.

All of this of course is preliminary, and the threat of this or a similar flu epidemic is a constant threat. Since the avian flu scare of several years ago, much work has been done by public health agencies across the nation to prepare for a possible pandemic, but those plans are nowhere near complete nor adequate.

Let's hope this outbreak fades away quickly. But if it does, lets hope it doesn't lead to complacency. The threat of pandemic is perpetually with us. And while 1918 may seem like a long time ago, it could easily revisit us. Note that in that epidemic the healthiest young adults were among the most vulnerable. Possibly because they had relatively fewer past flu antibodies and a strong immune system that warred with the invading virus so vigorously the host died.

Much of the 1918 epidemic was not made public as it occurred during WWI and was treated as secret by the warring states governments so as not to give hope to their enemies.