OMG Swine Flu! Panic!

I sniffed and coughed this morning. Maybe it's just allergies. Or, maybe it's swine flu? Do I need a blue mask?

Jokes aside for just a second, influenza is serious. This strain of the virus could be particularly nasty. Nobody really knows yet. It's apparently spreading around the world, and suddenly. People are indeed sick and some are dying. That's nothing to joke about.

But now let's get real.

The World Health Organization estimates that 250,000 to 500,000 people die from the flu or flu-related symptoms every year. Millions get sick from the flu. That's a lot of sick people. Most of them don't die.

Death toll in the swine flu outbreak (so far): maybe 152 in Mexico, and one now in the U.S., as far as we know. So why are we panicking over the few hundred who are sick now? The unknown is scary. Disease is scary. Pictures and video of people in Mexico City wearing blue masks are scary. Thanks to media hysterics, we are probably more at risk for crying wolf over all this. I'm not saying we should stop paying attention. Vigilance is good. Let's just not panic, folks.

My sister is in Cancun right now with her husband. She arrived the same day the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a travel warning for those heading to Mexico. However, she has no swine flu stories to share -- just stories about margaritas and laying on the beach. Our own Sr. Editor Caroline Walker just returned from a short trip to the Mayan Riviera. While there, she petted a "flithy, bristly" wild boar in a Mayan village there. No swine flu. Amazing!

So, are you going to die from swine flu? Probably not (really, it's too early to know), but some other flu might get you. Some other thing has a better chance of causing you problems.

Like cars -- they could get you. Please, be careful while driving home from work today. In 2008 more than 37,000 people died in U.S. traffic-related accidents.

But nevermind the flu, drunk drivers (or bad drivers). You really should watch out for smokers. The American Cancer Society says that 440,000 people in the U.S. die every year from tobacco use.

Then there's lightning strikes. They kill an average of 62 Americans every year. So, put your golf clubs down and get out of the way of approaching storms. Now!

I was going to lump shark attacks into this list of deadly things, but only a handful of people die from these toothy predators each year. And anyway, that's what you get for going into the ocean. Hey, I'm a surfer. We choose not to dwell on these things.

So, what have we learned here? That swine flu is probably something you don't want to catch, but it probably isn't going to kill you. We'll let you know when it's time to panic.

For now, you can avoid certain death by snuffing out that cigarette.