Swine flu gaining momentum…again?
Is it just because I haven’t had anyone close to me come down with it? Is it because it seems like all the cases I’ve heard of sound so few and far between? Is it because I myself haven’t come down with it?
I’m talking about reasons I haven’t been afraid of the swine flu since word first broke out — no pun intended — about the virus several months ago. But according to a recent report from the Associated Press, maybe I’m wrong to keep my worries at bay.
The AP reported that in the latest projection, health officials have said up to 40 percent of Americans could contract the swine flu virus this year and next. That’s almost half of the entire U.S. population, which is now well above three million. Now that’s a disturbing prediction.
The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control report that the virus has killed around 300 Americans so far, with about 1 million actually having become sick from it. Many have simply come down with a “mild case of the swine flu.”
I really don’t know what to think, honestly, even at this point. I just keep thinking back to a few years ago when all the news reports kept saying we would all — as in the entire planet — die from the bird flu. I can still picture all those people wearing ghastly white face masks and blue suits medical suits. I was scared about that so-called pandemic then, but all that noise died down rather quickly, with very few deaths, especially in the U.S., at all.
I’m wondering (rather hoping) if this swine flu will be the same.
Brittany @ July 25, 2009