How swine flu could be a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear warfare ~ By Michael Hanlon

By Michael Hanlon When a new animal virus emerges in some crowded corner of the Third World and the experts start talking gravely about pandemics, the inevitable question is: How much should we worry? Well, it probably isn't time, quite yet, to be heading for the hills but the emergence of a new and deadly strain of swine flu in Mexico is a matter of serious concern. If we are lucky, we will see something like a rerun of the SARS or bird flu scares seen earlier this decade - scary but containable outbreaks of disease which have (so far) killed a few dozen to a few hundred people. But if we are really unlucky, and experts stress that so far this is looking unlikely, we could be witnessing the beginning of a global catastrophe that could kill tens or even hundreds of millions. For it remains the fact that in a world awash with new and exotic fears, from computer bugs to terrorist dirty bombs, old-fashioned infectious disease - particularly the numerous influenzas which infect humans, pigs and birds - probably still has the greatest capacity to kill the most people in the shortest time. [Continue reading]

digg story ~ Submitted by mark076h