influenza pandemic

Flu Watch Jan. 24, 2010 – Swine flu appears to be sweeping aside seasonal flu

by Michael Fumento on January 24, 2010

in Health and Illness

Reported infections, deaths, hospitalizations all down. Again, though, when adjusted for the time lag they were probably the same as last week. The only thing that still interests me is the percentage of non-swine flu infections. That’s because, as I’ve noted, in countries like Australia and New Zealand, swine flu simply swept the seasonal flu aside. The result was a tremendous reduction in flu deaths as the milder swine flu inoculated people against the deadlier seasonal flu.

I repeatedly predicted we would see the same here and again this week we see evidence of that. Of the infections reported to the CDC labs last week, only four were clearly not swine flu. And here we are in mid-January, approaching what is normally the peak of seasonal flu season (mid-February).

Here’s a report from the Jan. 20 Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

“In ordinary years, the first seasonal flu cases typically show up in December and start mounting in January, said Richard Danila, deputy state epidemiologist. But so far, “there’s been virtually zero” confirmed cases of seasonal influenza, he said. ‘It’s really surprising.’” [Ahem! It wouldn't be if he'd been reading my material!]

Danila said he’s never seen seasonal flu wait this long to make an appearance, adding: “But no one’s willing to say that it won’t come.”

Flu experts speculate the H1N1 virus may end up wiping out other strains of flu, in classic Darwinian fashion.

“Seasonal flu didn’t find a niche and still hasn’t found a niche yet of susceptible people,” Danila said.

“Swine Flu Epidemic ends with a Whimper,” my Philly Inquirer piece

by Michael Fumento on January 15, 2010

in Health and Illness, Regulation

Hidden within the latest edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s FluView was this sentence: “The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was below the epidemic threshold.”

That’s right: The great American swine flu epidemic – which led to two proclaimed national emergencies and thousands of spooky news stories – has ended with a whimper.

Read about it in my new Philadelphia Inquirer article.

“WHO Should Just Give Up on the Flu Scare,” my National Post piece

by Michael Fumento on December 5, 2009

in Health and Illness

The folks who dubbed the swine flu piglet a pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO), just won’t let up.

“It is too early to say whether there has yet been a peak in infections in the northern hemisphere,” Reuters paraphrased the WHO as saying, “and it will be some weeks before there is a downward trend in the numbers of those catching the virus.”

Wrong across the board for both Canada and the U.S.

In the U.S., flu deaths and hospitalizations have declined for the third straight week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Regarding Canada specifically, the WHO claims “influenza activity remains similar but [the] number of hospitalizations and deaths is increasing.” But Health Canada’s FluWatch website, updated weekly, begs to differ.

Yes, all indicators have been dropping in Canada, as well. Just what part of “all” doesn’t the WHO understand? Read more in my National Post article.

Post Promotes Pig Pandemic Panic . . . and promotes and promotes . . .

by Michael Fumento on November 25, 2009

in Odds & Ends

Following in an unpublished letter to the editor of the Washington Post.

“Panic is what we want,” declared Anne Applebaum of the swine flu in the Post Opinion pages in May. “Panic is good.” The next month John Barry told Opinion readers to expect “89,000 to 207,000” swine flu deaths. In August, Opinions ran Jorge R. Mancillas’ piece warning of “between 9 million and 10 million” swine flu deaths worldwide.

There have been no Opinions pieces critical of swine flu hype.

Now the CDC estimates that in five and a half months swine flu has killed 4,000 Americans, while plain old seasonal flu annually kills about 36,000 over a five-month season. Worldwide, as of November 13, the World Health Organization (WHO) says only that swine flu is known to have killed over 6,250 people in seven months, even while it estimates seasonal flu kills 4,800 to 9,600 every seven days.

Aha! But Posteconomics writer Alan Sipress warns Opinion readers that if the do-nothing avian flu (the WHO says it’s been infecting poultry and hence making bird-human contact since at least 1959) were to combine with the lazy swine flu, the outcome could be “savage,” a “real nightmare.” (“Playing Chicken with the Flu,” November 15). Yes, and if Godzilla could rise from the deep he could destroy Tokyo!

Enough already! The point is made. And it says nothing about the swine flu but everything about the Post Opinions page.

[Not incidentally, I know they don't run anti-panic op-eds because in addition to this letter I sent them two. One was specific to the Post, but the second one was not and later appeared in the much-larger circulation Los Angeles Times.