This Little Piggy Fell Down Dead

Swine flu. In two weeks, I'm leaving safe, uninfected Maryland to fly on an enclosed airplane with a hundred or so potentially-infected passengers to Claremont, California, where one case of swine flu has already been confirmed! And that's just one case! There are a ton of other cases of swine flu (120, perhaps?) all across the United States that are quite the hot topic of conversation.

And I'm not scared. Not just because I think I'm invincible and that I could never come down with swine flu, but because everything I've read tells me that this is just another flu virus. It can spread quickly and easily among people. It can mutate faster than we can track. It can kill. Sure, I don't want to come down with any flu, but I've never panicked over the regular flu, so I'm not going to worry too much about swine flu.

Now, I do know that the major difference between the regular, ol' flu virus and this strain of flu is that this one apparently has the potential to kill young, healthy people in their 20s and 30s. That's what happened in Mexico. However, something tells me that there might be a bit of a difference between living conditions in Mexico versus living conditions here in the U.S.. After all, I've never had a friend become violently ill from brushing their teeth with tap water in the U.S.. I have a sneaky feeling that the swine flu may not have been the only factor in the death of these people; their access to resources could very well have also influenced how they reacted to the virus.

And this is what really irks me about this swine flu panic. I know that the World Bank and other agencies or countries have sent aid to Mexico and I think that's awesome. But around here, all the media can talk about is how to avoid getting swine flu, how to tell if you have it, and where cases have broken out in the U.S.. Healthy people in Mexico have died from what is essentially a fancy version of the flu, and instead of seeing that as a sign that Mexico and its people might need some serious assistance, people here focus all their energy on making sure that they don't get sick, that we have a vaccine ready as soon as possible. Don't get me wrong, I want a fever and nausea as little as the next guy, but if I have a few days of vomiting because my country decided to use its resources to save lives elsewhere, I have to say I'm supportive of that.

So really, everyone? We don't have to worry about swine flu. But there are people out there who do, and as far as I see it, that's indicative of bigger problems that should be exposed by this swine flu outbreak. So pull your head out of the toilet, wipe that vomit off your mouth, and let's get to helping them!