Is H1N1 Overblown?

It’s hard to imagine a pandemic like my grandparents lived through in 1918-1919. Worldwide, Called the Spanish Flu, somewhere between 50 and 100 million people succumbed to its effects worldwide. If you got the Spanish Flu, there was a 2.8% chance of dying from it.

Contrast that to what is in the news every day.

Like the updates at the World Health Organization’s website.

Where the current number is 894 documented cases in 18 countries.

One computer model generated by a Northwestern University research team predicts 1700 cases by late May, labeling it a “worst case scenario.”

So what’s the deal here? Are we over-reacting here or just erring on the side of caution?

Don’t ask me. Ask the people that the government of Singapore are going to lock up for a week if they show up on a plane from Mexico.

Even if they don’t have flu symptoms.

“Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boohn Wan said travelers from Mexico, from which the disease has quickly spread, will be forced into weeklong quarantine in their homes or hotels regardless of whether they have symptoms.

He added that there would be penalties for those who refuse. No one has arrived from Mexico yet, he said.”

This from the country that has a law on its books that bans the possession of chewing gum.

But I get it. I get that we have to take this seriously. Close schools. Cancel sports events and proms. Because what if we didn’t and people got sick?

Lawyers from everywhere but Texas would have a field day.