1. This isn't the first time the public has been warned about Swine Flu. The last time Swine Flu pandemic was predicted and warned about was in 1976. It resulted in the massive Swine Flu vaccine campaign. Several hundred people developed crippling Guillain-Barré Syndrome after they were injected with the swine flu vaccine. Even healthy 20-year-olds ended up as paraplegics. Within a few months, claims totaling $1.3 billion had been filed by victims who had suffered paralysis from the vaccine. The vaccine was also blamed for 25 deaths. And the swine flu pandemic itself? It never materialized. It is very difficult to forecast a pandemic, and a rash response can be extremely damaging.
2. One Australian news source states that even a mild swine flu epidemic could lead to the deaths of 1.4 million people and would reduce economic growth by nearly $5 trillion dollars. During the present H1N1 epidemic, as on August 13, 2009, 74 countries have officially reported about 226,038 cases of H1N1 infection and 1,882 confirmed deaths in the entire world from this illness are reported. India has reported 1,193 cases with 18 confirmed deaths.
3. Virus H1N1 is not new. It was first detected in 1987.
4. Infective stage of H1N1 flue is 5 days - 1 day before and 4 days after onset of symptoms.
5. The best way to prevent it spreading is asking patient having symptoms of flu like fever cough and running nose to take rest at home for 4 days so he does not transmit it.
6. Masks are of limited value if any, in this disease, it can spread through droplets on your skin, through contact etc. We see that the masks are worn as ‘fashion statement’. While walking on road we see people wearing masks coming out for a morning walk with their dogs! Many wearing masks around their necks, and so on, in fact these masks shall act as the vehicles to carry H1N1 and other viruses; instead, avoiding crowded places or cinema halls or malls where air conditioners are on, is advisable, because you get re-circulated air, where the virus density multiplies.
7. Swine Flu is a WEAK Virus. The mortality is less than 0.01 percent of those affected, that means may be 1 in 10,000 affected is likely to suffer the life loss. Death after H1N1 flu is not common, in fact infections like measles is taking toll of thousands more every year, and we are oblivious of the facts. Malaria kills 3,000 people EVERY DAY, and it's considered "A Health Problem"! Swine flu is being blown out of proportion by media trying to create ‘hysteria’ among lay people.
8. It is important to note that nearly all suspected new cases have been reported as ‘mild’. Preliminary scientific evidence is also pointing out that this virus is NOT as potent as initially thought. Wired Magazine reported on May 4 that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory computer scientists did not find similarities between swine flu and historical strains that spread widely, with catastrophic effect. Their findings are based on just one complete sample and several fragmentary samples of swine flu, but fit with two other early analyses.
9. Two years ago SARS was blown out of proportion, what happened? Humans develop immunity to the virus, the same is going to happen, we develop immunity in due course of time, the virus is in the air, you can not stop it, our body is already developing the immunity, so there is nothing to panic.
10. We need to take care of children and elderly who have less immunity and do not let them go to crowded places.

Note on TAMIFLU
Tamiflu is NOT a safe drug. When Tamiflu is used as directed (twice daily for 5 days) it can ONLY reduce the duration of your flu symptoms by 1 to 1½ days. Serious side effects include convulsions, delirium or delusions, and even deaths in children and adolescents as a result of neuro-psychiatric problems and brain infections have been reported. Tamiflu went through some rough times, as the dangers of this drug came to light when, in 2007, the FDA finally began investigating some 1,800 adverse event reports related to the drug. Japan actually banned Tamiflu for children in 2007. Additionally common side effects of Tamiflu include Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Cough, Dizziness, Headache and Fatigue. These are the very symptoms we are trying to avoid. Making matters worse, some patients with flu are at HIGHER risk for secondary bacterial infections when on Tamiflu; and secondary bacterial infections were the REAL cause of the mass fatalities during earlier Flu pandemics!

We must start this campaign of not being afraid of this flu and let your daily work continue as normal. No masks for ordinary citizens. Health care workers or those who are specifically exposed to a lot of crowded environments may be benefited, though it is not proven.