Officials from the World Health Organization today cautioned the public against jumping to any conclusions about the virulence of the swineflu virus, and President Obama said that since the disease is caused by a new strain of the influenza virus, officials are concerned that it could cause more serious disease as it spreads.
Some observers have questioned whether reports have been too alarmist about the new virus, which, outside of Mexico, has resulted in relatively mild symptoms. But Gregory Hartl, spokesman for the WHO, told reporters in a conference call that the devastating Spanish Influenza started out very mild in the spring of 1918, “only to reappear in the autumn of 1918 with a vengeance.” That epidemic killed at least 50 million people around the globe.
He went on: “It would be remiss of us not to take this extremely seriously. If, at the end of the day, it remains a mild pandemic, or if we could somehow avert the worst of the disease, or stop the worst of the disease, that would be fantastic.”
The Spanish Flu event, a real pandemic, occurred before antibiotics and sulfa drugs. I would be interested in seeing a study of how modern medicine would have impacted the death toll.
While in line at the store in my small town (pop. 3000) today I noticed a woman whom I know to be in good health wearing… you guessed it… a blue surgical mask. What more needs be said? When some cases of this flu show up in town she will probably not go out at all until famine forces another food run.