For a while now, a lot of people have been afraid of the so called "Swine Flu." Many doctors have already agreed that there is little to be worried about. There are those, of course, who see this as a global pandemic, (which "is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide") that will claim the lives of many. I, however, see it as a normal flu virus.
This whole "epidemic" reminds me of a movie called "28 Days Later," which has a story that "depicts the breakdown of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus and focuses upon the struggle of four survivors to cope with the ruination of the life they once knew." For some people, that sounds like the swine flu. In this movie, it isn't.
Here's a small piece of the plot: "Late one night, British animal rights activists break into the Cambridge Primate Research Facility to free chimpanzees being used for medical research. The local scientist warns the activists that the chimps are infected with something he only calls "Rage," but the activists disregard him and set a chimp free. It immediately attacks and infects the activists and scientist. 28 days later, a bicycle courier named Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakens from a coma in a deserted hospital. As he leaves the hospital, he discovers London is completely deserted and rife with signs of catastrophe. Jim is soon discovered and chased through the streets by infected people before being rescued by two survivors, Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), who rush him to their hideout in the London Underground. They reveal that while Jim was comatose, the virus spread uncontrollably among the populace, turning most people into vicious monsters ("the Infected") and resulting in societal collapse, possibly on a global scale."
Some people predicted that something like this could have happened if the swine flu was that serious, or if it mixed with the bird flu that happens to be a much deadlier version. Well, what do you think? Do you think the swine flu will ever become so deadly? Could a global pandemic like the one in this movie ever happen in the future? Feel free to share any thoughts below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Days_Later
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic
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ReplyDeleteI don't think the swine flu would turn people into blood- thirsty zombies, like the disease in the movie. I also think that the swine flu should be nothing to be worried about as long as people constantly wash their hands and keep good hygiene. The chances of dying from the disease is very low, so we shouldn't exaggerate about a "pandemic" occuring.
ReplyDeleteWell, I never said anything about swine flu turning people into zombies...I merely wanted to point out that it could one day mix with bird flu, which could transform it into a pandemic spread across a large area of the world, like in this movie.
ReplyDeleteActually, the threat of a pandemic is especially great due to the frequency of contact between nations, the ease of travel, and globalization in general. This was a concern higlighted by the SARS outbreaks a few years ago that we have been unable to resolve. Zoonotic diseases (those from animals) would be the likly causes of future epidemics due to our complete lack of knowledge of or immunity to them.
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