Piggy Panic?

What amuses me (in a possibly slightly twisted sort of way) is the way in which many people believe that the word ‘pandemic’ is synonymous with ‘apocalypse’. A pandemic is simply a rapid outbreak on a large geographical scale... and no, not necessarily impending doom or ‘Judgement Day’. As I recall it was not long ago since our last apocalypse. My experience of the fear around Swine Flu was best noted in China... as a white guy who let out a cough... I found it strangely amusing to see the face masks pulled up all around me as I was eyed with the air of suspicion.

What feeds this fear to the anxious famished masses waiting for their next meal of apprehension is the representation in the media. It might seem like I have a number of issues with the media as a system, which would not be a complete fallacy!

And now for the science part!

Let me try to explain something about influenza. This is a highly mutative virion, altering its protein surface relatively rapidly. This is why each year there is a new vaccine which is able to target the most prevalent strain as well as some previous stains.

Influenza’s mutations are a part of its cycle. As an RNA virus it, after binding, injects its RNA into the host cell nucleus as well as RNA transcriptase allowing it to ‘splice’ into the cell and replicate using the cell’s own mechanisms. However due to the fact that there are no enzymes present to proof read this, a number of the new virions produced that are genetically different to the ‘parent’ virion.

This mutative nature is often the cause of cross-species transmission and hence why a strain only apparent in pigs for example (a variant of Influenza A), may bridge the gap to humans.

So there you have a brief biological explanation of what flu is and why this year's flavour is that of pigs. In regards to this year’s impeding cataclysm what seemed to be of main concern to the medical professionals was the fact that this strain H1N1, is that of the same subtype of influenza as that of Spanish Flu – the influenza pandemic with the highest mortality rate recorded. This of course was rightly treated with caution. Nonetheless this particular strain seems different, rapid spread but relatively small mortality rate – especially when compared to annual mortality rates from ‘regular’ or ‘seasonal’ influenza.

Not (unsurprisingly) the image portrayed in the media.

A lesson we can learn from the media is that to ‘SELL! SELL! SELL!’ you should include words or phrases such as ‘QUARANTINE’, [insert huge number of ‘suspected’ cases], ‘FLU TOLL SOARS’, ‘OUT OF CONTROL’ and of course my favourite, ‘PANIC’.  Furthermore, with the recent news that a resistant strain of Swine Flu has been noticed, our headlines will probably soon be filled with our impending doom once again.

Swine flu, like other strains of influenza should of course not be ignored. They are serious illnesses of which we have admittedly limited knowledge due to the fact that various strains and subtypes affect our bodies differently (though symptoms tend to remain fairly similar).

There are aspects of this that ring with the sound of ‘the boy who cried wolf’ – shouting to the top of our lungs that a new pandemic is in town so lock your doors... while by doing so and seeing that it is not necessarily as dramatic as first seemed, lessens our trust in the media coverage of medical issues. So what happens when the foretold biological day of reckoning hits?

A compelling argument in favour of the media is that it is reporting a risk... and the issue with risk is that the outcome is unknown as expressed in an interview.

The sensationalisation of Swine Flu can easily be seen as unnecessary. The aim to bring awareness to a new unknown is not. The difference is in the representation.

Though has the media hype been good or bad? Like John Doe said, “[w]anting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention” (not to be taken literally of course). It has been argued that people are generally incapable of dealing with risk and therefore spoon feeding them fear is a way to accommodate for this and as a result act as a preventative measure in dealing with (in this case Swine Flu) potential risks.

The problem with the media that the Swine Flu story has exposed for me is that in using the media sledgehammer once again what will be the next step to take in order to get people to listen?