Is there really the threat of a swine flu pandemic, or is it just a cash cow for big pharma?
The media has been having a heyday with the fear of a “swine flu” pandemic, and rumors and fear-mongering have taken the stage. One doctor tries to cut through the crap with his article, “Swine Flu: New Pandemic or Just Makin’ Bacon?“
“Back in 1975 a soldier at Fort Ord CA died in a training exercise on a very hot day. A very mild virus that came to be known as swine flu virus was found in his body, though never proven to be the cause of death. Just as probable he died of overexertion, since it was a very hot day and they were on a training exercise. The virus was a member of the H1N1 virus family reportedly found in hogs, which had not previously been transmitted to humans. So nothing was known of its virulence or its ability to cause even a local outbreak, let alone a global epidemic. There was no evidence that it could be a serious disease for humans.”
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Fast forward to 2009:
“We have conflicting reports of several hundred Mexicans ‘infected’ with swine flu, 150 of whom are ‘believed to have’ died from it. And now we’re also beginning to see reports of each day more and more people in the US have come down with the illness, supposedly 70 cases, at first, then more.”
The doctor goes on to lay out the pattern of slim allegations, endless unsubstantiated inferences and unreasonable predictions about the ‘swine flu‘:
- A global pandemic is in the offing
- Thousands of Mexicans will die first
- Americans are dying
- A vaccine is in the wings
- Tamiflu is being ramped up to save us
Within a week of the so-called ‘outbreak’, the media had begun to tally the numbers of infected and dead, but what are they counting?
“There is no screening test for the disease! No culture protocols, no titer amounts, no incubation periods set, and what is most important, no specific pathogen has been identified. Without a specific pathogen, there is no epidemic.”
He calls it the Case of the Disappearing Threat, which has happened the same way with anthrax, SARS, smallpox, and avian flu. According to the article, this is the pattern of events:
- A disease is named
- Mass hysteria is created: global threat
- The disease is loosely correlated with a microbe
- With insufficient testing, a vaccine and drug are ordered, costing billion$
- Soon after, the treat disappears and is never heard from again
Regardless of your convictions about the origins and validity of the ‘swine flu‘, it would serve all of us well to read the article and ask some good hard questions about the nature of the ‘swine flu pandemic’. Full text is here: SWINE FLU: NEW PANDEMIC OR JUST MAKIN’ BACON?
Image: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com at Flickr under Creative Commons
Great post! It’s a slippery slope because I think the media broadcasting this 24/7 really has contributed to this ‘potential’ imaginary pandemic…but one might argue that news channels are doing their respective jobs by providing followers with a forewarning of this health issure. Bottom line is they need to find a happy medium and realize that too much coverage will lead to even greater problems than the flu itself!
Oh, for god’s sake. What hysteria, other than in the media? The Mexican government did the right thing, telling people to stay home and closing schools, big events, etc. that would tempt people to be out until things are under control. W.H.O. warns this is a virus that is easily spread, asks public to be responsible to prevent the predictable results of a pandemic. And it appears to be working ok.
A ploy of big Pharma? They’d sell a helluva lot more drugs if millions actually GOT sick.
I vote for “Just makin bakin.” The last time the media instilled any sense of fear in me was with the anthrax scare. I was diligent in my steps to be alert of its presence. Yeah, the potential of a terrorist threat was coupled with that fear, amplified by the fact that I lived in the San Francisco Bay (a reasonable target for terrorists, especially the bridges).
I think the biggest difference in my reaction from the masses was that I did not look to the government for a solution. I started training, running a mile or more a day and planning response to possible attacks. They never came.
I have strong doubts that I would ever involve myself in militant operations outside of our borders, however I will remain an ardent defender of this land in which I was born. I am willing to sacrifice a small segment of our population in an attempted invasion (estimated at less than the number of US troops lost in Iraq) in the time it would take to respond, however I fail to see an argument against the idea that our naval forces flanking our ocean borders would not stifle if not stop any impending invasions.
I wonder if this swine flu has more to do with the democrat’s desire to enact a single-payer health care system. I don’t particularly buy into that, but what I find most interesting is that this is another example of the “band-aid approach” to problems. I wish more people would listen to Ron Paul than Obamarama. I share Paul’s view that we need to start dealing with root problems rather than patching the symptoms. One of these days all those bandages are going to fall off and the wound below will be horribly infected.
Improving your diet and exercise are the most (cost) effective approaches to a healthy immune system, not loading your body with drugs. I’m sick of the supply side of the market having precedent. People, you should be FREE. That means you should make decisions for your own damned selves. Your demand should drive the market.
And many people, especially baby boomers have been sold that somehow spending money is GOOD. The economy is only good for the rich. The economy is practically meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Go help your fellow man instead of crying about how bad off you have it. We’re all in this together and as long as you see yourself as independent from the whole, you are living a lie.
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