Bird Flu; Bird Schmu?
If it isn't SARS, it's mad cow. If it isn't mad cow, it's the bird flu.
With the on-the-brink-of-hysteria mood the media projects onto almost every story, it's very difficult for me to tell what is actually a realistic threat and what isn't.
It seems to me that we were just as worried about SARS a few years back as we are about bird flu now, and it all came to naught.
On the other hand, I don't know enough about infectious diseases to look at the raw data and reach my own conclusion about the flu. I did hear that the 1918 pandemic originated from a bird, though, from someone on NPR, which usually has decent sources.
Between terror attacks, a worldwide bird flu pandemic, cancer, and daily violence in Oakland, there's enough to worry about that I won't even bother. It feels a bit like being an insect squashed on a windshield.
[by the way, thanks to the people leaving comments on this post for clearing up some of my mis-information!]
With the on-the-brink-of-hysteria mood the media projects onto almost every story, it's very difficult for me to tell what is actually a realistic threat and what isn't.
It seems to me that we were just as worried about SARS a few years back as we are about bird flu now, and it all came to naught.
On the other hand, I don't know enough about infectious diseases to look at the raw data and reach my own conclusion about the flu. I did hear that the 1918 pandemic originated from a bird, though, from someone on NPR, which usually has decent sources.
Between terror attacks, a worldwide bird flu pandemic, cancer, and daily violence in Oakland, there's enough to worry about that I won't even bother. It feels a bit like being an insect squashed on a windshield.
[by the way, thanks to the people leaving comments on this post for clearing up some of my mis-information!]
Comments
I get your point though, and it's a good one.