Swine Flu? Really?

April 27, 2009 - Leave a comment...

Photo by <A HREF='http://www.flickr.com/photos/hthg1983/1519121063/' TARGET='_blank'>be_khe</A>

Photo by be_khe

And you people were ready to blame the birds.

As the other good book says, don’t panic. To put things in perspective, the big flu epidemic of the 1800′s killed millions but so far we’ve seen less than 100 deaths in this country. More people died in the last 24 hours from car accidents than from the last week of swine flu.

Back then we also didn’t have Purell, antivirals, and clean public restrooms with hot water and soap at every Starbucks (every 10 feet). If you’re unlucky enough to live in a town with no Starbucks or some other dense concentration of sink/soap dispensation units… congratulations, you live in a town small enough that you probably won’t even see the next pandemic.

That being said, I know this kind of thing can be dangerous. I’m glad that most of my work is done at home- far away from densely-packed subways and cramped cubicle farms. I shake a lot of hands at gigs, but I don’t see nearly the exposure that your average commuter sees.

So while this post has nothing to do with music, I just want to wish you all well and offer two pieces of advice: don’t go nuts, but wash your hands.

P.S.: If you liked what you read, please share it with others!

  • Tora Kiyoshi

    Don't forget the Spanish Flu. Conservative estimates put the death toll between 20 and 50 million victims, and more radical estimates say 100 million people died of this little flu, which came from a poorly contained firepit at Fort Leavenworth, KS. (In contrast, the death toll for World War I, which happened at the same time, was a “mere” 10 million soldiers.)

    It's considered the worst pandemic in the 20th century, and I would argue that it's the worst in recorded history. Thanks to wartime travel patterns, it literally spread around the world, even hitting isolated communities like the pacific islands and arctic villages.

    -=Kiyoshi

  • Tora Kiyoshi

    Don’t forget the Spanish Flu. Conservative estimates put the death toll between 20 and 50 million victims, and more radical estimates say 100 million people died of this little flu, which came from a poorly contained firepit at Fort Leavenworth, KS. (In contrast, the death toll for World War I, which happened at the same time, was a “mere” 10 million soldiers.)

    It’s considered the worst pandemic in the 20th century, and I would argue that it’s the worst in recorded history. Thanks to wartime travel patterns, it literally spread around the world, even hitting isolated communities like the pacific islands and arctic villages.

    -=Kiyoshi

  • Tora Kiyoshi

    Don't forget the Spanish Flu. Conservative estimates put the death toll between 20 and 50 million victims, and more radical estimates say 100 million people died of this little flu, which came from a poorly contained firepit at Fort Leavenworth, KS. (In contrast, the death toll for World War I, which happened at the same time, was a “mere” 10 million soldiers.)

    It's considered the worst pandemic in the 20th century, and I would argue that it's the worst in recorded history. Thanks to wartime travel patterns, it literally spread around the world, even hitting isolated communities like the pacific islands and arctic villages.

    -=Kiyoshi