Unwanted Pork

GerDay All,

Mad Cow's Disease. Equine Influenza. Swine Flu. Am I sick of these names or what? For a start, the meejah (media) have this wonderful propensity to take an ailment that has somewhat serious consequences for a handful of people and in the name of "public interest" (but the reality being sell more copy and thus gain more advertising) blow it out of all proportion.

You think I am exaggerating? Okay.

How many people died from Mad Cow's Disease in Great Britain? According to Wikipedia "by February 2009, it had killed 164 people in Britain, and 42 elsewhere", although they go on to say that the number will rise as undoubtedly they will. I wonder how many people were killed on the roads in the corresponding period in Great Britain? According to the official Great Britain statistics "This article shows progress towards the Government’s casualty reduction targets for Great Britain and reviews the main trends in road casualties in 2007 compared with recent years.
There were a total of 247,780 casualties of all severities, 4 per cent lower than in 2006. 2,946 people were killed, 7 per cent lower than in 2006, 27,774 were seriously injured (down 3 per cent on 2006) and 217,060 were slightly injured (down 4 per cent on 2006)."

Equine Influenza basically affected the horse racing industry (read gambling) and a heap of recreational horse people (myself being one) but its overall impact on society was bugger all of nothing. The way it hit the papers here in Oz, you would swear blind that the world as we once knew it was about to end!

Now we come to swine flu.

There has been one (1) death attributed to suspected swine flu (they are not even sure it was H1N1) to date in Australia since the "outbreak" listed on the Australian Federal Government Swine Flu Information Site. Compare that with "Death statistics in Australia for pneumonia and influenza:
1,353 men died from pneumonia and influenza in Australia 2002 (AIHW National Morbidity Database, Australia’s Health 2004, AIHW)
1,731 women died from pneumonia and influenza in Australia 2002 (AIHW National Morbidity Database, Australia’s Health 2004, AIHW) "

Now, I have the flu. Ordinary, everyday influbloodyenza. Everyone around me went into a panic attack because I "am an interstate truck driver and I go to the states where there's been swine flu". Whoopy bloody do! I also go to places where there are high levels of muggings, but I haven't been mugged. I go to places where there are known levels of drug offences and, strange as it may seem, I have never once been offered illicit drugs. I have even been to places where women are supposed to want to accost and have their way with every male in sight but, sadly, I am still redeveloping my virginity!!!

Now, I had to vacate my truck to get tested for "pig flu", just in case I had it and was quarantined, despite my protests to the contrary. Sure .... I am not well ... but I am quite capable of working and holding my end up of the bargain. Instead, I find I am going to lose a significant amount of money because everybody is having a panic attack about swine flu.

Note to self:- next time you get crook, don't let anybody know, even if you really are bloody well dying.

Note to higher deity:- can you let the animals get their own diseases and stop having them share them with us? Humans are basically hypochondriacs and drama queens and we blow all this stuff way out of proportion!

Keep it safe and avoid animal illnesses!