So this morning I'm doing my usual train tube tube journey to work, crossing London from south east to west and to my surprise I discover that we are in the middle of a health crisis that if you believe the headlines is going to wipe out half the population of the earth. I discover that there has been an outbreak of swine flu. Never heard that one before, but apparently it's highly contagious and the WHO (World Health Organization) have said it has the potential to reach pandemic levels.
Oh no, here we go again, just like Avain or bird flu a couple of years ago the newspapers are off again, trying to send everyone into a panic is my thoughts. Since I hadn't heard anything over the weekend, which was probably more due to it being my birthday weekend and not watching much on TV at all, then this Monday morning shocker came as quite a surprise.
Apparently it's origins lie in Mexico which has seen over 100 people die of the disease, and thousands infected. There are cases in the US, but so far no fatalities anywhere else in the world.
Swine flu is apparently a mix of avian, human and pig flu according to what's written in the news summary pages giving us an insight into this virus. It's also known as the H1N1 virus. The last flu pandemic was in 1918 and it killed a lot of people, but should we at this stage be worrying? The media is bound to run and run with this so I will start collecting them and reading their reports.
I decided I would try to keep a blog on this story, so that I could track all the stuff I see and read about it over the coming weeks. I hope swine flu does not reach epidemic let along pandemic stages. I also hope I don't get it as I can't afford the time off work.
My sympathies are extended to anyone who has already suffered as a result of contracting this disease. As with all things, there are good and bad, and there will be lots of human stories around this outbreak.
