[Student Reports] Swine Flu : Hype or Hazard?

Sarah Ha / 10th. University HS

A sneeze interrupted the still of a testing classroom. Animated hisses of "Swine flu!" ensue almost immediately afterward causing the broken quiet to erupt into fits of barely restrained giggles. This joking accusation is also often shouted across school halls students laughing at the seemingly improbable exclamation in a manner that expresses the sheer distance they believe separates them from the infamous virus. "It's just regular flu with unnecessary hype" says Kimberly a junior who believes the chances of infection for herself or her friends stand at best at a paltry 8%. Her opinion however is only one of many; her words echoing the increasingly cynic skepticism of the youth. Most of her fellow students who believe the virus is more hype than actual hazard treat the illness and its symptoms almost like the remote details of an urban legend spreading rumors and cracking jokes. "I just don't think it's all that big a deal" sums up freshman Kwon Park.

The fact is that we are privileged as inhabitants of America and are thus considerably less vulnerable than most with better medical care and less nutritional deficiencies.

So why do so many experts still stress that "despite what you may have heard" the "virus is not going away"? Recent trends indicate that outbreaks are increasing and despite the relative mildness of the diseases' symptoms in comparison to others swine flu may be more of a hazard than initially believed by many teens. As more and more cases are discovered especially in California where the border is shared with Mexico and therefore the disease's epicenter more and more people grow concerned for their own welfare.

To prevent such illness and the associated outbreaks many health authorities encourage people to take the following simple but active measures: the common activities of washing your hands keeping your hands away from your face and staying home if feverish can make all the difference in preventing the catching and/or spreading of swine flu. "I take those extra measures and carry a bottle of hand sanitizer everywhere I go" says Elizabeth J. a sophomore who believes that safety is worth all her extra effort "It makes me that much less likely to catch it which is a good feeling."