posted on Apr, 29 2009 @ 12:31 PM
Despite the Panic and Widespread Hysteria, and all the Media Hype about the Swine Flu Virus, if one looks at things logically, there is no reason to
expect the worst.
1.) The death rate vs. infection rate is not of Pandemic proportions to justify a Quarantine (it needs to be 1.5% to be classified as a Pandemic, and
2.5% to be an Epidemic). There is a higher death rate vs. infection rate for newer strains of treatment-resistant TB in the US than there is of Swine
Flu. There are currently more people in the US suffering from Botulism than Swine Flu, and with a much higher mortality rate than Swine Flu. Same goes
for Clostridium Difficile or even Septicemia. Spend a little time on the CDC website and you'll realize that normal Flu has a higher death rate vs.
infection rate than Swine Flu has. This alone shows how blown out of proportion the scare really is.
2.) Any variant of the Flu virus, including Swine Flu, is only a problem for a small percentage of the population. Those at risk are the extremely
young who have not yet developed an immune system (infants), those with immune deficiency disorders, and the elderly who either have reduced immune
systems or have chronic illness that can be complicated by another contagion such as the Flu. These are the people that make up the vast majority of
fatality statistics in any Flu related deaths, regardless of the strain. Healthy Children and Adults are normally able to overcome it, even without
vaccination or treatment.
3.) Does anyone remember the Swine Flu Outbreak in 1976? After one confirmed death due to Swine Flu at Fort Dix, this prompted President Gerald Ford
to issue an order that every person in the U.S. be vaccinated for the disease using Tamiflu. The vaccination program was plagued by delays and public
relations problems, but about 24% of the population had been vaccinated by the time the program was canceled. The vaccination program using Tamiflu
caused about 500 confirmed cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, resulting in death from severe pulmonary complications for 25 people. These were
believed, in all probability to be caused by an immunopathological reaction to the 1976 vaccine. The Death rate to the vaccination Tamiflu caused a
higher death rate than the Swine Flu. I don't think the US Government is willing to undergo that same fiasco a second time round.
4.) Most of all, it comes down to simple Economics. First of all, do you realize how many Trillions of US Dollars it would take to Quarantine just Los
Angeles for a day, let alone the entire nation? Let's not even consider a one to two week Quarantine. The Payroll alone involved with enforcing a
single day Quarantine would be enough to financially cripple this nation at a most inopportune time. Not to mention the Trillions in Spending Dollars
that would be disastrous to many small to medium sized businesses that would fold from even 2 days of no business due to a Quarantine. That alone
would put the US Economy into a nose-dive from which we would not recover for at least a decade. They say, in every conspiracy, to follow the money.
Well, the money in this case is pointing to no Quarantine. Plain and simple.
(The Economic Impact of Quarantine: SARS in Toronto As A Case Study paper by Gupta AG, Moyer CA, and Stern DT is a good read to quell fears of
a Mass Population Quarantine, and that doesn't take into account other financial factors such as a faltering economy or economic crisis at the time
of Quarantine.)
When I ask if there will be a Quarantine, my Magic 8 Ball is pointing to "Not Likely". Logic and Reason point me to the very same conclusion.
Like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says, "Don't Panic!"
[edit on 29-4-2009 by fraterormus]