Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Genie is out of the bottle



HEALTH authorities are urging Victorians not to panic, despite confirmation yesterday that a 15-year-old Melbourne student has become the 14th Australian to catch swine flu.

The boy, a year 9 student at Mill Park Secondary College, has had no contact with overseas travellers or with any of the other eight confirmed cases in Victoria — proving that swine flu is now spreading through the community in the same way that seasonal influenza does.

Do not panic

He is the third case of "community-acquired" swine flu in Melbourne, following positive tests on a 17-year-old girl from St Monica's College in Epping and on an eight-year-old boy from the western suburbs.

Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said health officials were trying to trace how the three people had contracted the disease in a bid to minimise an outbreak.

Do not panic.

The development came as almost 3000 people were quarantined for more than five hours aboard a cruise ship in Sydney Harbour, after four passengers were found to have flu-like symptoms.

Victoria so far has shown symptoms no more severe than the ordinary seasonal flu, which kills around 2500 Australians a year.

However, they concede that, in a worst-case scenario, swine flu could kill up to 5000 Australians this year.

"But while it could easily kill twice as many people as the normal flu … this is no reason to panci," Dr Hampson said.
Note the misspelling of the word "panic" by the reporter.


CONFIRMED CASES

-Victoria 9

- NSW 2

- South Australia 2

- Queensland 1

The important thing to remember is do not panic.
I've taken the precaution of packing supplies and have taken off for the hills, away from civilization. I have a radio to keep up to date with the news but won't be returning home till summer.



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5 comments:

none said...

These dire warnings are getting pathetic. Are they trying to control us with fear?

Anonymous said...

Nothing starts a stampede faster than the words, "Do not panic."

Anonymous said...

Funny how it was once the rustlers that started stampedes... not the cowboys charged with getting it to market.

ThePaddy said...

FJ's comment reminded me of a comedy sketch I saw many years ago....Maybe it was Monty Python I'm not sure, but anyway 2 pilots on a plane were joking with each other when one of them said, "Watch this", and he took the PA and announced very cooly to the passengers, "I would like everybody to just relax, there is absolutely no cause for alarm".

Needless to say, it went over like a led balloon, much like this pig flu crap.

Anonymous said...

I was expecting to see a picture of Michael Jackson with his little mask on. He'd fit right in with the crowd now. :-)

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