A Matter of "When" not "If"

H1N1, Swine Flu, whatever you call it.

Since it first surfaced or reported in Mexico in April 09, the flu has spread to more continents and more people have caught it. Even in Singapore, the first reported case was on 27 May 09 and 39 days later, the number of cases have passed the 1000 mark.

The media has played a big role to promote vigilance and awareness amongst the people. At the same time, such awareness is also created based on the foundation of fear of H1N1. When you first have 1 or 2 people catching the virus, perhaps you could still afford to ostracise the person, finger point and go "eeehhhhhh.... swine flu" but now that over 1000 people have caught it in just slightly over 1 month, the flu IS getting very real. You could very well have it. Think zombie movie scene; 3 normal human beings trying to run away from 1000 charging zombies. (I often wonder why don't they just join the zombies, no more senseless running away).

Singapore's 48th case was a German man who flew back from US. Upon reaching Singapore, he went on to a formal function, shopping, Clarke Quay and concert, before checking into the hospital. That created a huge outcry from the public who accused the man of being irresponsible. Maybe he was really feeling fine until the party was over?

My point is nobody wants to be sick, especially NOT of H1N1 for couple of days worth of MC. Unfortunately the success of the media campaign has inadvertently created a stigma against people who caught H1N1. Lets hope at the end of the day, common sense and sympathy prevail against the masks on our faces and thermometers in our handbags.

p.s. In Australia, there is no H1N1 hype despite over 4,000 reported cases. Apparently their normal seasonal winter flu is more deadly than H1N1. Life goes on down under.

p.s.s. I dreamt I had the flu, and I was sent to a quarantine centre in Butterworth.