And Pigs Shall Fly!!!

Hi friends

Swine Flu! These two words have struck more terror in the hearts of every world citizen today than the words "AL Qaeda" or "Osama Bin Laden" did in September 2001. The virus has spread like wildfire, and has reached almost every continent in the world - perhaps Australia seems much safer in that context in spite of the recent "racial attacks" on the Indians there :) Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad have all witnessed deaths to this deadly virus.

I have been following a lot of Television lately and have been keeping close track of the events shown in them. I happened to observe this - All news Channels sensationalize news more than ever! And they only go after the hot-news. Take swine-flu as an example. When the outbreak first took place in the USA, it was immediately picked up by the news in India. Although it had not yet spread to India, the news-casters were "hopeful" that it would soon reach the Indian shores, thanks to the immigration patterns of the Indians in the USA. The news was hot property till it reached India. As soon as the flu struck Indian shores, it was the main headline for the news for almost a week.

But then something happened - the virus did not spread as quickly as they "anticipated". They thought that a country like India, with such a huge population, must witness a epidemic of sorts. Even the WHO had declared it a Level-5 pandemic by then. But the flu did not spread much because a) All the carriers where those who had arrived from the US and Europe. They were certainly not the kind of people who roamed in the local trains and buses of the country (thank God!) and b) It was a dry season for India and the monsoons had not set in yet, making the virus spread at a much lower rate than in the relatively less-hot US and Europe.

The newscasters were "disappointed" and suddenly, the flu was off the news - Not a single channel even reported the spread of the virus elsewhere in the world :) This was clearly visible in all the news channels, and you could see how every other news was given importance to the news of a Level-5 Pandemic.

And now the monsoons have set in (albeit in smaller proportions than expected). And the virus is making hay while the sun ain't shining! The newscasters are back again with full gusto, reporting about the deadly virus wearing masks that could easily cover the pimples on most of their faces. One death of a child has resurrected the newscasters to the fact that THE VIRUS STILL LIVES. And it will not rest until it has all the slots 24*7. I am sure it will not be disappointed, as long as it kills more and more people.

Just take all the necessary precautions even if your city has not witnessed a single outbreak yet - You certainly do not want the first to be affected by the flu because the newscasters will know your condition faster than you do. After all, they have all the experts :)

Ciao and take care.