One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Now I am not trying to make light of the current panic over swine flu... oh excuse me... virus H1N1. I do however find it a bit funny that the world health groups are suddenly changing the name from swine flu to H1N1 virus. Do they think that someone will be offended by the fact that the flu was originally referred to as swine flu? Well what then about the Hindus who could have been offended by the reference or ailment known as Mad Cow disease? Now perhaps it is a good move considering how many people have had knee jerk reactions and are taking extreme steps to counter the outbreak that is sweeping the globe.

What do I mean by 'knee jerk reaction'? Well the renaming of the disease is one but among the others are moves in some parts of the world to wipe out all pig populations. Now I agree that steps need to be taken to contain the disease but is wiping out an entire species really the way to go? I don't think so. Sometimes our reactions are predicated by the fact that we don't know what exactly it is we are dealing with or how to get word out to the public to contain any panic or similar 'knee jerk' reactions. Take the example of school systems around the nation. So many have closed and so many others have been taking other steps to ensure that they practice what is commonly referred to as CYA (or covering your a$$).

I don't blame the school boards for erring on the side of caution. I've referred to instances before where schools have stayed open during snowstorms and students have been stranded which is usually when parents (rightfully) raise an uproar over the fact that the school board made the stupid decision to keep the schools open despite warnings to the contrary. Then again they endure the ire of parents who get upset when schools close and very little (or no) snow falls like predicted. It seems that schools are 'damned if they do and damned if they don't'. The same can be said of the current flu outbreak.

Schools across the nation are closing at the least hint that there is a flu outbreak in the area. In Maryland there are so many schools closed (and many more closing) due to concern that the disease has reared it's ugly head. It may be something as simple as someone having the flu (the normal flu... not one associated with an animal) or even seasonal allergies. You don't believe that people are starting to panic? Try sneezing without having a tissue (immediately disposed of) or a bottle of hand sanitizer handy and see what kind of reaction you get in public. I have never regretted my pollen allergies as much as I have in recent days.

I don't begrudge schools for taking precautions and closing but I do feel bad that they are undergoing such excessive scrutiny because these same schools would come under fire for having remained open with personnel or students who exhibited signs of falling sick. I'm sure that with current technology and scientific know-how, the virus will eventually be contained but what the media and we need to do is calm down and take things into perspective so that we can get the information we need but also do what we need to do in order to stifle the spread of the disease. Panicking and spreading fear (as the media is often wont to do) isn't going to help. Just a good dose of antivirus (if needed) and a larger dose of common sense.