So swine flu is now a pandemic. This has set the medical world agog with excitement. It's been ages since they have been able to apply the term and they just couldn't wait to spread the word.
The panic aspect seems to be the important part of that word, but despite being widespread, swine flu is almost a damp squib, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphors.
But the aspect that most concerns me most is it's ability to survive on surfaces. I had always been comforted by the expert view that germs lived only a very short time off the human body. There was no need to worry about catching anything from the public phone box and as for toilet seats - no problem there. But now we are told that swine flu is sprayed around by coughs and sneezes and lays on table tops in cafes and on handrails in public places. How about shopping trolleys? Are we to wear rubber gloves when we shop and drop them in biohazard boxes as we leave the store?
But why has the common cold not been declared a pandemic? Surely it exists in most countries of the world? What a bout Asian flu?
So far swine flu seems to be claiming less victims than the other forms of flu with which we have become familiar. When will the panic be over?
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