Have you, like millions of Americans, nearly forgotten about the dreaded swine flu outbreak?  Me too.  Thankfully, the WHO (World Health Organization) has raised its threat level to 6, making it a "full blown pandemic".  This capitalizes on the fact that many people associate the word "pandemic" with "epidemic" and therefore reach for the panic button like it was the last donut in the break room after a staff meeting.

Remember that the term "pandemic" refers to the areas to which a disease or virus has spread.  In this case, just because it's shown up in more locations does not make it more deadly.  So far there have been 145 confirmed deaths related to the swine flu, Mexico leading the way with 108.  This really pales in comparison to the more than 250,000 flu related deaths in an average year.  Not to say that the flu shouldn't be taken seriously, but in this case it's sort of like the neighbors dog in the movie "The Sandlot".

It's already been admitted that the H1N1 virus was created in, and escaped from a lab where it was being used to create vaccines.  So, why the constant fearmongering?  That, my friends, is the American way.

Refer to our previous post, "Global Pandemic: Fact AND Fiction", about the swine flu for some natural tips on staying healthy and avoiding the flu.  If your anxiety gets out of control from worry of infection, try Daily Effects.

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