As the Swine Flu is sweeping across the U.S, we’re getting more and more worked up. Sure, it’s scary; there’s no vaccine and it’s quickly spreading, but that doesn’t mean that it is the most threatening thing out there.


What we’re failing to realize is that currently, the regular flu kills about 36,000 people per year. And we’re worried about Swine Flu? Just because this new flu is what everyone is talking about, suddenly means that this is all that is happening? People are dying from starvation, regular sickness, cancer, but we pay attention to this. And why? Because it’s popular, because it’s new.

“Thus far, the pattern we see in the United States is very similar to that of seasonal flu — relatively mild to moderate cases,” Los Angeles County public health officer Dr. Jonathan Fielding said in his comments to CNN.

Compared to the regular flu, these cases are not as threatening. It may be the same pattern, but in a smaller dose. As a whole, our society tends to run towards whatever is new and hot, instead of thinking before we act. If we did do our research, we would see how completely illogical it is to freak out about something that is so small compared to something else. This is especially true when that something else is in fact, so common. People get the seasonal flu all of the time, but those deaths don’t rush onto the news like these do.

Swine Flu carries many of the same symptoms as the flu: fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue; it follows the same patterns. National Geographic experts also say that this flu is really no worse than the regular flu.

“From what we understand so far, the severity doesn’t seem to be much different than what it is in regular seasonal influenza,” medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Susan Rehm said.

If experts are even telling us that this is not the big deal that we’re making it, then why are we making it one?

If only we would stop and look at what we’re turning this into, we would hopefully see it doesn’t make any sense at all. Suddenly we’re smarter than the experts; we’re deciding what causes of death are important enough to talk about. Death happens all the time, for multiple different reasons. Just because the Swine Flu is the topic that is the most current, doesn’t mean it’s the only topic.