Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The flu

I've heard a number of people here Down Range scoffing at the idea of the U.S. government getting spun up about the flu.

Perhaps they don't know that more people died from the flu in 1918 than died as a result of the "Great War" which was raging at the time.

Because of advances in biomedical technology (or perhaps just because we're "lights-out"), we seem to have become fairly blasé about influenza -- after all, "it's just a virus."

Well, it may be "just a virus" but as events in 1918 showed, the influenza virus has incredible potential to race around the world wreaking havoc and mayhem -- and that was before the age of easy and cheap air travel!

While panic would be a very unhelpful response to this (or any) situation, a healthy [pun intended] respect for the influenza virus would be appropriate.

Make sure your friends come to mistake you for Lady Macbeth, you're washing your hands so diligently and so often!

Easter blessings and peace to one and all,


Fr. Tim, SJ

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