I've been a huge critic of the new and old media for their panic mongering over the avian flu. It did nobody any good to be excessively worried about that potential threat to global health. This flu in Mexico, a bizarre swine, avian, and human flu combo, is something to be legitimately concerned about. Panicked, no, but concerned, yes.
At this point, it looks like this flu responds well to treatment with Tamiflu. There are also indications, based off of limited U.S. cases, that it may not be as lethal as some past flu pandemics. But it pays to take precautions. Now is probably a good time to swear off hand shakes and/or greeting kisses, to step up basic sanitization, and maybe even to stock up on some masks and gloves. It certainly would pay to have emergency stocks of basics. I don't think we'll need them, but this is a time where it is better to be safe than sorry.
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