As you have heard in the news, there has been an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the United States. There is a possibility that this situation might develop into a pandemic if the virus continues to spread around the globe. The news media report excessively about this threat, and while health officials urge people to stay calm, there is an increased level of anxiety in the population.
My response is to eat more bacon.
I think Russia banned Mexican and U.S. pork imports. Too bad they don't realize that's not really going to help. But a tip of the hat to CDC's Richard Besser, who said during a conference today to keep in mind a piece of context: even routine, seasonal flu is associated with 36,000 deaths per year in the U.S. So more deaths from swine flu are likely. While the unexpected is scary, having that bit of context is helpful, I think.