It’s been all over the news over the last week or so, obviously, but maybe I’m being a little naive here, but I’m pretty sure the media is hyping it into a frenzy as usual.

So far the “pandemic” stats are as follows:-

As of 06:00 GMT, 1 May 2009, the WHO reports that (paraphrasing here) out of all the countries in the world, 11 countries have been affected. Out of the billions of people on the planet, there have been 331 confirmed cases of swine flu and out of all those 10 confirmed deaths (Mexico = 9, US = 1).

I’d hardly call that cause for major panic and fear – at least, not just yet.

Anyway, for anyone who’s interested, here’s the breakdown of what swine flu is.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease that infects pigs and is caused by a flu virus. There are regular outbreaks of swine flu in pigs, which become ill but rarely die from the virus. Swine flu does not normally infect humans although this does occasionally happen when people have had close contact with pigs.

Swine flu is a new virus so no-one will have immunity to it and everyone could be at risk of catching it. This includes healthy adults as well as older people and children.

The differences between ordinary flu and pandemic flu include:
Ordinary flu

• occurs every year during the winter
• affects 10 to 15 per cent of the UK popuation
• most people recover within 1 or 2 weeks without medical treatment
• can be identified in advance and a vaccine can be made (this immunisation is known as the flu jab and helps protect people from ordinary flu)

Pandemic flu

• occurs during any season
• affects more people than ordinary flu (up to half the population)
• is a more serious infection
• people of all ages may be at risk of infection
• a vaccine cannot be made because the virus strain has not been identifed
• antiviral medicine is stockpiled to treat people

Flu symptoms can include:

• fever
• cough
• headache
• weakness and fatigue
• aching muscles and joints
• sore throat
• runny nose

In the case of pandemic flu, these symptoms are likely to be worse.

But, the problem is that’s pretty much sounds like how I feel right now.  I have a cold, I have a sore throat.  I wake up with aching muscles and joints on a regular basis…. They say the symptoms are likely to be worse, yet anyone who’s ever had a cold knows that while you have the cold it’s always the worst case on the planet and no one else has ever had it as bad as you!  You laugh because you know it’s true :-P

On a more serious note regarding Swine Flu, I have to wonder if Mother Nature has decided she’s had enough of humanity destroying her world and is attempting to do something about it . . .