There and back again!

I am back. You remember me, don't you? I was quiet for a while for numerous reasons ranging from being busy to what topics must I blog on, with so many news and blog sites that are present around the world (or must I say 'on the internet'). But seeing how many can blog even when they don’t have anything to say other than tooting their horns (really it gets boring after a while), I figured I could contribute some to the noise.

The latest news, if you are flipping radio or TV channels is on Swine Flu. Now, now, I am not going to be blogging about the flu or its new name H1N1 or how it spreads or what its effects are. There are enough news channels that are doing a good job talking about it and how to prevent it from spreading or how to contain it from becoming a pandemic. People are becoming really cautious about this flu because the media has given enough exposure on the flu and WHO has raised the panic level to 5. There are enough school closings to keep the sick children home and to keep all other students from becoming sick. But is this all necessary?

Flu or influenza is a common disease and every year we have this sickness and deaths as a result of this. Any flu needs proper hand-washing and sanitization, covering of mouth while coughing (or now in this case, even while kissing as shown in the picture) to prevent spreading of germs and keeping the sick children and of course adults too, if they are sick, back home to avoid the spreading of infection. But are these not what we should be doing even otherwise? Is it that difficult to follow the same logic for a somewhat catchy named flu? Whether it is a bird flu or avian flu or swine flu or HIN1, they all belong to the same group - FLU.

In 1996, Oprah mentioned about mad cow disease and everyone shunned from eating beef. Couple of years ago, there was bird flu and the next thing that followed the news was that the market for Chicken (poultry) went rock-bottom. Now this! I am sure the market for hot dogs is in the negative. It is ironic to see the TV commercial “Feed the pig” at this time around. It is a piggy bank savings commercial but because of this swine flu pandemic, the namesake will reap the effects because of people who are not aware of this. Even the flight industry will take a nose dive because of what the VP said about not flying as the air in the plane will be contaminated when one person sneezes. Churches had stopped the communion handshakes during their meetings to avoid the spreading of the virus.

I feel sorry for the school board who are working extra hard to sanitize the school grounds so the children can be safe. Is it that difficult to follow the norms on keeping a sick child home and having the schools open as usual? Now that the flu effect is waning out, schools are reopening after 2-3 weeks of closings and the students will have to work extra to catch up on the work that they missed. If we just follow the precautions, would not everything will be in its place? It is just a FLU for gods sake!