The Fearless Blogger

Fun Fact: Pigs are smarter than the average 3 year-old

When I was listening the the local San Diego news one Friday night, and they happened to mention that a couple of kids had contracted a-strain-of-flu-typically-found-in-pigs-even-though-neither-had-been-exposed-to-any-pigs, my ears perked up. When the reporter dismissed the report as an isolated case – nothing to be concerned over , “bullshit” was the word that popped into my head. (Somehow two children randomly contracting a species-jumping disease sounded like something we’d be hearing more about.)

Admittedly “Different”
See, I find epidemics strangely compelling.  I loved the movie Outbreak and “Return to Hot Zone” had me simultaneously grossed out and enthralled. If it weren’t for my emetophobia and an aversion to blood, I’d want to be an epidemiologist for the CDC.

Part of it has something to do with what hindsight does when looking back at the initial discovery of a future pandemic.  I remember looking through the “Science” section of the New York Times for an article to use for a “current events” assignment and reading about a disease circulating through bathhouses and the gay community.

When SARS was first reported, the combination of access to data via the internet, a love of Excel spreadsheets, and a job that I loathed resulted in my personal spreadsheet to track the number of reported cases to gauge how exponential its spread might be.

So I admit that I was only too happy to become preoccupied with the news of the Swine Flu epidemic (and perhaps a bit vocal on my belief that the government seems to take economic health into consideration when communicating guidelines on personal health).

Fun Fact: Former Miss California's are as intelligent as (edited in effort to take the high-ish road)

Media Darlings
All the same, the media frenzy surrounding the swine flu ended up putting the disease into the same PR trajectory that catapulted Carrie Prejean into the spotlight (incidentally knocking swine flu out of the center of the public eye in the process) until she, in turn, was overshadowed by Susan Boyle.

Thing is, swine flu’s not an annoying beauty pageant betty sporting brand new boobs and a Prop 8 banner.  And even though it’s no longer a media darling, H1N1 hasn’t exactly gone back to a quiet life in Scottland (or a pad provided by Simon Cowell).

As a result of a recent sharp increase in cases, the World Health Organization is considering declaring the swine flu a pandemic.  Mind you, this is not a reflection of the flu’s severity, but rather how widespread the virus is.

That said, if the WHO decides to move to “Phase 6″, the swine flu will be the first pandemic in 41 years.  Which might lead one to question:

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