Swine Flu: low fatality rate, much like ordinary flu

[Mark]

A few months into the new swine flu scare, the statistics are now showing that its fatality rate is only slightly higher than ordinary seasonal flu.

In the US, the death rate is about 1 in 1000.

In Thailand, it has been about 5 in 1000.

Most of the deaths were with people who already had chronic illnesses.

Every year, some people die after contracting the ordinary seasonal flu.

For example, the US Center for Disease Control's (CDC) interim Deputy Director for science and public health, Dr. Anne Schuchat, said during a teleconference that "Our best estimate right now is that the fatality [rate] is likely a little bit higher than seasonal influenza, but not necessarily substantially higher."

If you are strong, get good rest, eat well and exercise, i.e., if you take care of your health, then you have little to worry about.

After all, the chances of getting cancer in your life in the general population is somewhere around 250 per 1000 people.

As of July 12, 2009, there were 3229 cases of flu with 15 deaths and 6 people in ICU. That's about 1 in 20,000 Thais who have contracted it (or 1 in 4,000,000 Thais who have died from swine flu thus far) over the past few months.

In my opinion, the news media are making too big an issue over this, making money for themselves at the expense of the general public. Many people are avoiding shopping malls and other places.

There is even talk among some politicians of being the saviors of the people by forcibly shutting down malls and other commercial places. This has sent managers of malls and superstores scrambling to give disinfectants to the maids and increase the frequency of their rounds.

Government agencies like the World Health Organization are doing the conservative thing of declaring a "pandemic", probably just to cover their butts with paper and avoid potential criticism later. It reminds me of the travel advisories to not go to Thailand when there were some protests and a few people killed in isolated and predictable parts of Bangkok. Goodness forbid any government look at traffic statistics in their own state or province on ANY day, lest it be declared a region not to enter.

You don't see many headlines saying "Swine Flu Not Significantly More Lethal". There are some major media outlets saying this, but most are still flogging the headlines which bring more website traffic. Much for the same reason the news reports on murders and sex scandals instead of news you can use ...

So, anyway, most of those who can analyze and think by themselves aren't changing their plans. Unless perhaps they are chronically ill or have the very young and very old among them.

There are still two antiviral innoculations which seem to work: Tamiflu and Relenza. My daughter's school got a round of those, but I declined my daughter getting innoculated at this time. Nor myself.