Pandemic?

I wanted to write something cheerful today but the news took this thought formost from my mind. I hope it is just "stinking thinking." Not good for a Sunday!

The potential of a pandemic was really in the news a few years ago with the Asian flu virus. Fortunately it did not spread as feared. Let's hope the same for the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and now the United States.

"SUNDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Mexican authorities continued to take dramatic steps over the weekend to try to contain the swine flu outbreak that officials say has killed as many as 81 people, and sickened more than 1,300 others.

In the United States, two new cases were reported Saturday by health officials in Kansas, as well as a new case in California, bringing the national total to 11, according to the Associated Press. Eight more cases of "probable" swine flu involving school students have been identified by New York City health officials. Cases in the U.S. have so far remained mild.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program, told reporters on Saturday that her agency was "worried, and because we are worried we are acting aggressively on a number of fronts" to investigate the outbreak. She added that, because of the wide geographic spread of the virus so far, the outbreak is already "beyond containment."

I haven't studied this so I don't know what to make of it. If you have, I would appreciate you sharing with us.

It caught my eye on the news before bed last night so I thought I would share it. I don't believe many of us are prepared for a pandemic. I know the United States and the WHO aren't and that is why some of them are concerned.

I only know what I hear and read and have time to sort out, so much is misinformation or doesn't apply to us.

I hope and pray this is another one of those things.

Blessings on Sunday,

Ed Winkle