No, it is not mild, and your attitude is very worrying. The swine flu has a mortality rate of 0.5%; i.e. 1 in 200 people with the virus will die. While that's "mild" compared to the Spanish Flu (2.5%, 1 in 40) it's much worse than the common flu (0.1%, 1 in 1000).
As Timmy has suggested, you need to back up your claims with some evidence. So far there is no basis for suggesting one in 200 people who contract Swine Flu in Australia will die. We are well into the winter and so far 11 people have died, all of whom have been reported as having underlying pathology. The last report I read advised that around 3500 people nationwide have contracted the virus.
And the reason it's so serious is because it is now a pandemic. That means the virus is widespread with confirmed cases for over 100,000 people, and realistically will affect millions of people.
So what? The common cold could probably also be considered a pandemic in that it affects millions of people globally. Until I see confirmed evidence that swine flu is going to be a whole lot more serious than the ordinary influenza which afflicts thousands every year, I decline to panic.
And that is simply not true. I've seen many people repeat that myth, maybe for comfort, but it's not supported by the facts. Young healthy adults are spending weeks on breathing machines... they are the ones who *don't* die.
Again, you need to post some quantitative and qualitative evidence of this.
Google for swine-flu-hits-young-healthy-adults-hard. I can't post links or I'd link directly.
Why can't you post links? It's not difficult.
I'm sure any moderator would be happy to help if you lack the capacity to do this for some reason, although I can't think why you couldn't.
Really? Because if anything I'd say the opposite is true. People are entirely laxidasical about the swine flu. I see very few people taking precautions. I see far more people saying "it's not that serious" or "it only affects old and sick people" or "I know somebody who got it and they're fine".
And if they are, that's because that is the experience of most of us so far, and further it's what is being advised by the Federal Health Minister.
Your attitude is the real danger. Especially so when someone catches swine flu and plays the "soldier-on" card by going to work, sniffling and sneezing, and making everyone else sick. Imagine you are in an office block and 1 in 200 people died. There are 3000 people in my office block; now imagine 15 of them dead. I'm not sure that would be viewed as just "hysteria".
Now on this, I completely agree with you. But then I think anyone with a nasty cold should refrain from mixing it up in public. But such an opinion would be widely regarded as unreasonably cautious.
I was buying fruit a couple of days ago, didn't bag the grapefruit.
The girl at the checkout sneezed mightily over everything, wiped her nose with her hand and proceeded to handle the grapefruit and then the computer screen! I considered protesting, but didn't think it would be effective.
Next time I'm there I might have a word to her boss.
The death rate from the 1918 pandemic was actually 20%; far higher than the mortality rate from the virus itself.
And this has already been addressed. In those days the secondary bacterial infection could not be treated as penicillin had not been invented.
Hence people died from pneumonia, something which happens much less these days.
You should treat the swine flu with appropriate seriousness. Pretending it's simply a windup, or hysteria, is how you can make the problem worse. At the moment it's entirely treatable if people take caution (e.g. stay home if you're sick, cover your mouth when you sneeze, wash your hands). But it people start believing it's not serious, that's when people start dying.
Thank you for your advice. However, I shall continue to treat swine flu as I see appropriate, and so far that is that it's a strain of influenza which is no worse than the ordinary Influenza which afflicts thousands every year.
No publicity or hysteria has in recent years been attached to that.