The word “hysteria” comes to mind!

 

What I would like to know is how many people in those countries that have identified cases of swine flu have died due to ‘ordinary’ influenza in the same period. Perhaps this would allow us to assess the relative significance of swine flu.

 

Incidentally, my dictionary defines pandemic as “Epidemic, usually over a wide area” or “Widespread, general, universal”. Note: No mention of the severity of the problem. Apparently there was a pandemic in the 90s, but it was so mild that it went generally unnoticed.

 

Chris