By now, the hype about the H1N1 novel flu virus (Swine flu) has spread around the globe.  With good reason, many people have died from the virus and businesses, schools, and many countries are faced with the daunting task of developing contingency plans in case of a more widespread outbreak.  Many media critics, however, have noted a media frenzy surrounding this virus similar to that of the SARS outbreak in Asia (2003) and the West Nile Virus outbreak in the United States (1999).  Neither of these highly publicized diseases ever reached pandemic levels, despite extensive and sensationalized media coverage of the outbreaks.  While caution is always called for when dealing with infectious diseases, it is important that the public keep a realistic eye on emerging diseases instead of buying into media fear mongering which often has no basis in reality.  Consider the following:

• During the 2003 SARS epidemic, only 8000 people worldwide fell ill with the disease.  Of these, 774 died, barely a 10% mortality rate.  When comparing these numbers to the 6 billion people alive at the time, the outbreak clearly was sensationalized by the media. 
  
• In 2008, nearly 10 years after West Nile Virus was introduced into the US, 1300 cases were reported and confirmed, with only 44 deaths among them.  The number of confirmed cases likely is underestimated, due to the number of patients who were exposed to the virus but experienced such mild symptoms they did not consult their doctors. 
  
• According to the CDC, the peak year for West Nile Virus infection was 2003.  During this year, almost 10,000 human cases were reported, but still only 284 people died of the disease.  This year was also subject to the same underestimation due to mild symptoms in some people.
• Disease transmission can be largely variable dependent on the mode of transmission (person to person, insect, water, food, etc.) and will vary accordingly depending on the time of year, weather, and lifestyles of those being exposed to the disease.  Just because in a disease shows up in force in an area one year does not mean the next year will be similar.
• As of August 14, 2009, the CDC reported roughly 7500 cases of H1N1 flu in the U.S. requiring hospitalization, out of 43,700 probable or confirmed cases.  Of those hospitalized, 477 people have died.  That means of all the infected people in the U.S., approximately 1% of those have died of the disease. 
• Of the cases severe enough to be hospitalized, the CDC has determined that many of these patients have had underlying health problems that contributed to the severity of the disease

When the statistics of the actual outbreaks are examined, it becomes clear that the media coverage of these diseases is largely and unfortunately exaggerated.  What should the public do in light of biased media coverage?  Keeping healthy is always the best option, and many steps towards this are advice your mother gave you as a child:

• Eat your vegetables.  Vegetables and fruits contain many vitamins and minerals important in immune system function, such as vitamins A, C, and E. 
  
• Take your vitamins.  A multivitamin formulated for your gender and age range will contain the most commonly deficient vitamins and minerals, aiding your immune function
• Wash your hands.  Hand washing is the number one way to prevent the spread of diseases from direct contact with other people or infected surfaces.
• Get your exercise.  Daily exercise is important for a healthy body in general, but also boosts immune function.
• Drink plenty of water.  Water keeps your body functioning at its peak.
• Get plenty of sleep.  Sleep deprivation depresses the immune system, and if you are walking around like the waking dead you are more likely to skip out on the other points about staying healthy too!

What's most important in the middle of a novel disease outbreak is to not lose your head.  Keep an eye on the news but keep in mind that your options are largely limited to what you can do for yourself and your family to keep healthy.  An obsession with the potential of getting sick will largely be more damaging to your or your family's lifestyle than catching the disease would be.  Be aware of where the disease is and where it may be spreading, be logical about your decisions to go out to events with large crowds of people, WASH YOUR HANDS, but don't lock all your windows and doors and sanitize your entire house.

On a final note, the diseases noted in this article are all viruses, which means antibacterial products have no effect on them.  In fact, using antibacterial products everywhere (hand soaps, household disinfectants, etc. etc.) is more likely to make you sick by killing off the beneficial bacteria we have growing on or in us and making way for the bacteria that do make us sick to take hold.  Also antibacterial overuse is causing the evolution of super bacteria, like MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which doctors are currently unable to treat effectively.

Disinfected is not always better, please stop the abuse of antibacterials.