Swine Flue

Massive panic has resulted from the most recent Swine Flu epidemic, but what is it exactly that has people so concerned? Well, to start, Swine Flu was first known to be transmittable from pig to human in 1918, when influenza killed 20 to 40 million people. However, before we sound the alarm, it’s important to note that swine was not the cause of the 1918 epidemic. In fact, according to WebMD, it worked quite to the contrary - humans gave the flu to the pigs. Over many years and decades this flu has mutated among swine, something largely attributed to the overcrowding of farms, also know as factory farms. These types of conditions provide a ripe atmosphere for the virus to surface as it did in 1918 where tens of thousands of animals are all crammed together, allowing for the perfect conditions for the virus to spread and mutate.

This brings us to where we are today, living in fear that maybe this is the one, the epidemic that we have been warned about for years. Michael T. Osterholm, who is the Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research spoke on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer about what it would like if conditions like what were experience in 1918 happened again: “We can predict now 12 to 18 months of stress, of watching loved ones die, of potentially not going to work, of wondering if you’re going to have food on the table the next day. Those are all things that are going to mean that we’re going to have to plan unlike any other kind of crisis that we’ve had in literally the last 80-some years in this country.”

That said, it seems reasonable to assume that social interaction at schools and work would be seriously effected by the worries of swine flu. However, very little has changed from a student’s perspective. From what I have experienced on campus, and at work, students and co-workers are no less likely to shake hands or high five than in any previous year. They talk, mingle, and hug as they always have, and while there does seem to be a higher awareness level of avoiding germs, washing hands, and staying home if you’re sick, I don’t see fear changing normal social habits.

Students have done an excellent job of putting the H1N1 virus into perspective, and, as research from the University of Maryland suggests, the H1N1 virus might not be all it was cracked up to be. While their research does say that the virus is spreading more rapidly than other seasonal flu’s, it does not appear to be much more severe. Daniel Perez, the lead researcher and program director of the University of Maryland-based Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza Project, said that the fact that it spreads faster than other seasonal viruses shouldn’t come as a surprise either, given that it’s new and human bodies haven’t had a chance to build immunities to it.

Students have taken the scare in stride, but will this change once a case of swine flu makes its way onto campus? Once your friend or, dare I say, roommate, comes down with the Swine Flu? How will you react then?