(no subject)
OK. I've had enough.
I've spent the last couple of days responding to previously sane person after previously sane person repeat the same infuriating mantra: "It's just flu, it's nothing to worry about."
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JUST FLU.
As a population we're for the most part resistant to most of the seasonal flu strains that run through the elderly every winter, culling out a few thousand here or there. And most of the time when people say they've had "the flu", they've not actually had influenza; just a nasty cold with a bit of a fever attached. Certainly the "24 hour bug" is not flu at all most of the time, it's just a respiratory infection of the kind that people get constantly. After all, our respiratory systems are giant, warm, wet breeding grounds for anything.
So why is swine flu at all worrying? Because it is [b]JULY[/b]. You know that term, "seasonal flu"? That's so called because it's at its most virulent during the winter, but also because it spreads much faster when everyone's cooped up inside sharing germs. This one? It's spreading like wildfire in the middle of flu's least favourite time of year. It's a different strain, one most of us aren't going to respond to with a bit of a sniffle; it's going to be about a week of feeling like death. Remember getting the flu as a kid? That's what it's going to be like.
The current wave is apparently abating. Now, it's arguable that the wave has been exaggerated by idiots thinking they have swine flu after getting a cold from the cold snap we just had. But quite likely it is receding. Is that the end?
No. That's not what flu epidemics do. They fade, then they come back. And then again. And then again. And each time they catch a different chunk of the population.
I swear if I see one more bloody stupid thing like the Eye this month: "Total deaths from Swine Flu:300 Annual deaths from normal flu: 2000" I'm going to scream. It's July. People don't die from the flu in July. For fuck's sake, what about this isn't obvious?
Of course, I know the answer. Skepticism is now fashionable. After all, it feels good saying They have got it wrong and your Common Sense knows better, right? No. Bullshit. This isn't bird flu (which was never actually proven to transmit between humans - swine flu jumped species in 3 days apparently), this isn't ebola (which was geographically contained due to its short incubation period).
YOU DO NOT KNOW BETTER THAN EPIDEMIOLOGISTS. YOUR "COMMON SENSE" DOES NOT TRUMP REALITY.
All that people are being asked to do is keep an eye on themselves and their families for signs of the disease, and to take some basic precautions to reduce exposure (use hankies to sneeze, wash your hands, don't share drinking vessels). What the fuck is wrong with that exactly? What?
I stand by what Ben Goldacre said. If next year rolls around and nothing much has happened - if swine flu goes damp squib - then I won't be "proven wrong", I'll be OVER THE BLOODY MOON, and I'll be lucky. Just like everyone else. Diseases aren't something to make comparative statements about. Diseases kill people. Your mother, your kids, your friends. They KILL PEOPLE. Stop being fucking smarmy twats and recognise that fact already.
I've spent the last couple of days responding to previously sane person after previously sane person repeat the same infuriating mantra: "It's just flu, it's nothing to worry about."
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JUST FLU.
As a population we're for the most part resistant to most of the seasonal flu strains that run through the elderly every winter, culling out a few thousand here or there. And most of the time when people say they've had "the flu", they've not actually had influenza; just a nasty cold with a bit of a fever attached. Certainly the "24 hour bug" is not flu at all most of the time, it's just a respiratory infection of the kind that people get constantly. After all, our respiratory systems are giant, warm, wet breeding grounds for anything.
So why is swine flu at all worrying? Because it is [b]JULY[/b]. You know that term, "seasonal flu"? That's so called because it's at its most virulent during the winter, but also because it spreads much faster when everyone's cooped up inside sharing germs. This one? It's spreading like wildfire in the middle of flu's least favourite time of year. It's a different strain, one most of us aren't going to respond to with a bit of a sniffle; it's going to be about a week of feeling like death. Remember getting the flu as a kid? That's what it's going to be like.
The current wave is apparently abating. Now, it's arguable that the wave has been exaggerated by idiots thinking they have swine flu after getting a cold from the cold snap we just had. But quite likely it is receding. Is that the end?
No. That's not what flu epidemics do. They fade, then they come back. And then again. And then again. And each time they catch a different chunk of the population.
I swear if I see one more bloody stupid thing like the Eye this month: "Total deaths from Swine Flu:300 Annual deaths from normal flu: 2000" I'm going to scream. It's July. People don't die from the flu in July. For fuck's sake, what about this isn't obvious?
Of course, I know the answer. Skepticism is now fashionable. After all, it feels good saying They have got it wrong and your Common Sense knows better, right? No. Bullshit. This isn't bird flu (which was never actually proven to transmit between humans - swine flu jumped species in 3 days apparently), this isn't ebola (which was geographically contained due to its short incubation period).
YOU DO NOT KNOW BETTER THAN EPIDEMIOLOGISTS. YOUR "COMMON SENSE" DOES NOT TRUMP REALITY.
All that people are being asked to do is keep an eye on themselves and their families for signs of the disease, and to take some basic precautions to reduce exposure (use hankies to sneeze, wash your hands, don't share drinking vessels). What the fuck is wrong with that exactly? What?
I stand by what Ben Goldacre said. If next year rolls around and nothing much has happened - if swine flu goes damp squib - then I won't be "proven wrong", I'll be OVER THE BLOODY MOON, and I'll be lucky. Just like everyone else. Diseases aren't something to make comparative statements about. Diseases kill people. Your mother, your kids, your friends. They KILL PEOPLE. Stop being fucking smarmy twats and recognise that fact already.