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Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

MURPHY: Swine flu is not a big deal

Have you been coughed or sneezed on lately?

If you answered yes, then you have swine flu. If you answered no, then chances are, you’re going to get swine flu.

Sure, I might be exaggerating a little, but who cares if you contract it?

Swine flu is not the big deal America has hyped it up to be.

Dr. Marc Lipsitch of Harvard University told Reuters.com that new estimates suggest the death rate of swine flu compares to a normal year of seasonal influenza.

Lipsitch added that he thinks we are in a Category 1 pandemic—normal for the seasonal flu.

To give you an idea of what this means, the Pandemic Severity Index set by the U.S. government has five categories: Category 1, the seasonal flu, has a mortality rate of about 0.1 percent.

However, the elderly make up most of this small percentage, as they are more easily affected by the flu.

A Category 5 would resemble the famous 1918 flu outbreak that killed millions.

At the time of the outbreak, people were walking around in gauze facemasks and little girls were jump roping to, “I had a little bird, its name was Enza, I opened the window and in-flu-enza.” Creepy, I know.

But fear not, students of Marquette, because while many of you have probably heard wild rumors about swine flu enrolling at Marquette, the handful of cases on campus haven’t all been confirmed.

It seems more people are turning into hypochondriacs than swine flu victims.

Despite the scarcity of the virus on campus, Marquette has taken the offensive to combat the swine flu by posting hygiene fliers all around campus.

I am assuming they are reaching out to those with the social etiquette of a Neanderthal because the flier gives a brief tutorial on how to cough, sneeze and wash our hands.

Hopefully, this will put a stop to the uncultivated people who walk around campus deliberately coughing and sneezing on people.

For those of you who are genuinely confused about what do to when confronted with a cough or sneeze in a public venue, then you may find the fliers helpful.

If you look at the sign, the stick figure looks more like a lollipop king performing a magic trick.

As you scan down the flier, there is also a picture-by-picture walk through about how to wash your hands.

So far, I have not seen or heard anyone look at the flier and say, “Oh! I thought you were supposed to eat the soap! I have been doing it wrong for the last 20 years!”

So while the Minnesota Department of Health surely meant well when they created these flyers, they were actually making things worse.

A: They wasted a bunch of paper (remember how going green used to be in).

B: They are making people worry more about a virus that is as deadly as the seasonal flu we deal with annually.

So let’s not fall into a panic and let swine flu take the attention off more important things, like Obama’s proposed health care reform, gray wolves being added to the endangered species list and the 2010 Cubs season.

Let’s look this disease right in the eye and say, “I eat pigs like you for breakfast.”

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  • M

    MarcSep 30, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    I like Rhonda. She’s got spunk. If science were really scientific, than why are so many drugs removed from the market every year after they have been scientifically proven safe and effective before entering the market?

    Reply
  • J

    John DawsonSep 21, 2009 at 11:12 am

    Rhonda’s email is full of misinformation and ignorance. For example, no, Swine flu was not created in a government lab. That’s just a paranoid fantasy created by people who don’t understand influenza or science and who are crazy afraid of the government. Swine flu developed by a natural process of evolution in south Asia where people raise pigs and chickens together. This allows the viruses to move back and forth between pigs and chickens and to exchange DNA.

    And it is difficult to predict at this point, before the flu season has begun, how prevalent it will be. The danger of Swine flu appears to be that younger people are unusually at risk. Hence the preparations being made at schools and colleges.

    Really, someone should monitor this comment site for ignorant rants like Rhondas.

    John

    Reply
  • R

    Rhonda ShadowSep 18, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    Obviously you’re just too freaked out to realize the world around you.

    Point-being, well you tell me.

    Reply
  • A

    AndreaSep 17, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    While I can’t agree with much of what Rhonda said, I’m still scared of swine flu!

    Mostly because the average age of those who die from it is 19 — unlike the regular flu, which only is really risky for old, unhealthy people anyways. Also, while MU may have very few reported cases, we are located in the state with the most confirmed cases in the whole country (partly due to our top-notch testing facilities, but still).

    Reply
  • R

    Rhonda ShadowSep 17, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    What’s the big deal about this virus, folks? Personally, I believe it’s the government’s attempt to control us by fear tactics. Maybe I made this up, but wasn’t the virus originally let out of a government lab? Avian and pig virus mixing it up and liking each other? Man, I can’t tell rumor from fact, but the government does like to jack off to their privileged and stir-up all kinds of funky stuff. Like the button to destroy the world, it’s either for the worse or better. Honestly… just keep your stuff in your own pants and let’s not spread it out to the rest of outside world of your restricted areas. We rather live somewhat normally…

    Anyway, whatever the case be, the media rallied up the public into a senseless scare (as usual) so they get their viewers and prime time. So it translates from the TV educationals to society, overdrama’d of course, and soon everyones like, “omg!?”

    In Milwaukee where I reside, I believe there is three confirmed cases. That number will rise within the city. Quite frankly, I may have it right now because I’ve been sick since late last night. Ain’t stopping me from going hunting on Saturday or attending my college courses, or my jobs.

    What’s the difference weather it be swine flu, the traditional flu, or just the common cold? For me, I think there’s no difference. It’s just an excuse to not show up to work or school or whatever, which doesn’t sit well with me. Now if you’re really out of it and coughing up hairballs, you can’t work anyway no matter how hard you try to lick yourself.

    My mother was old school, no medicine, no missing school unless you got fever/flu or worse, and no “touring” at the doc’s office. She only gave me the bare min. requirements of vaccines and check-ups I needed to go to school and play sports. Otherwise, I’ve never been in the doc’s unless I blacked out from jousting… Even then, those visits totaled less than three.

    She believed that inner human toughness is what cured and promoted your health. She wasn’t a health nut or into those wasteful diets. She homecooked, worked hard, and threw us outside either with or without bandaids. I was the oldest of three daughters, heathly and the strongest. The middle sister got juvenile diabetes, the generation was right, and she was fragile in her younger days. The youngest is a lot like me.

    If I’m medically correct, not a medical degree pursuer at all, viruses strengthen themselves by exposure to I guess… their predators? You know, it’s in nature and evolution. Their predators kill off the weaker versions of the virus, thus allowing only the strongest to survive. Hence, a strengthen virus shall only live. These vaccines contribute to their toughing, of course, but also may put it down temporarily until it comes back only stronger, hopefully not until the day nothing works. At least that’s what my mom taught us.

    People die everyday, sometimes more so thanks to technogically advanced weapons we point at each other. Our personal ending will come eventually anyway without delay. It’s just a matter of when and where. This just happens to be one more portal to it for the ever increasing number of people infeasting this planet. We cheat death on a daily basis mostly without our knowing, yet it’s still around us everywhere we go. Arn’t we immune to death emotionally? Somewhat we are immune mentally and physically.

    FTR, I’m not suggusting chemotherapy (overkill) to wipe out an entire virus because it’s pointless. It just won’t happen. It’s like trying to say the general public is smart. If you are working as a general min. wage employee and interact with the general public, you know what I’m talking about.

    So, that’s all my take is on. Later.

    Reply
  • J

    JakanonymousSep 17, 2009 at 6:54 am

    The idea of a virus is that it mutates, every year to become stronger and live within our systems. In one year, the swine flu has reached the effectiveness of the traditional flu that has been around for years. We can’t just cast this aside because it could potentially get worse

    Reply