Flu scares and history

Tradition has it that the British forces occupying early America purposely gave blankets taken from smallpox victims who had died to the Indian tribes which had been at war with them. The poor Indians were wiped out because they had no immunity to the virus.

Similar experience among Polynesians infected with measles had shown the efficacy of disease as weapon. Human reaction to such elements has followed a sad and fairly predictable course throughout history. The great plague wipes out whole populations during medieval times.

More recently, we have lived through such events as the great Flu epidemic of 1918. Not until recently has the mechanism of resistance to such infections, including the antigen-antibody response and the elements of immunology, been understood so as to prevent these disasters. Only the Lord knows how many folks have lived instead of dying from preventable disorders by immunization.

This past week or two has seen full-speed-ahead media coverage reporting cases of "swine flu" afflicting people in Mexico and in five of our states. We heard about the pathogenicity of this particular strain of virus as being relatively minor, but unpredictable in scope as times goes by. We heard from official Washington functionaries who taught us everything anyone would want to know about this infective organism --- and more.

What they didn't succeed in doing was to reassure us. Liberal use of the scare-words "epidemic" prevented us from relaxing after the broadcast. We were advised not to overload the busy medical facilities to see a physician unless we were sick with fever and the sensation of having been run over by a train. (We certainly didn't need a specialist in immunology to tell us how to use one's common sense.)

Future medical specialists will include more and more --- we hope --- who will learn how to relate medical information in a facile manner which informs us without being so ponderous and downright scary. Most of us know how to wash our hands and most others will never know how to use a face mask correctly.

Viruses have survived over the ages by being "smarter" than their hosts after infection. The human victims have learned how to produce vaccines to prevent such events and even the odds against widespread victimhood and panic. Continue to allow your God-given wisdom to go right on living by taking rest and medication as needed for fever and pain. Go see your doctor --- that is what he is there for.