How can we avoid a swine flu pandemic?

The UN's World Health Organization has raised the alert over swine flu from level four to level five - a strong signal a pandemic is imminent. Are you taking more precautions?

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Your comments:

No doubt the media believes that we have become desensitised to the constant reporting of the global financial crisis, we now need something else to worry about - well done for spreading panic BBC. What will be the next scaremongering news exclusive you will bring us when this pandemic swine flu is forgotten about in two weeks' time? Why do you wish us to live our lives in constant fear?
Daniel, Folkestone

What if someone is diagnosed with this and refuses to take the medication? Is there a goverment, local or nation directive in place? As some people will refuse treatment, how can quarantine in one's own house work without guards?
paul clements, st helier

Andrew Lindop, Connahs Quay - I couldn't agree more with your comment. Over Christmas I had a terrible flu and had to work on Christmas Eve 8pm to 9pm despite being terribly ill. This is because we are not allowed to call in sick over the Christmas period! As a result a couple of people caught the same flu not long after me!
Sarah Campbell, Glasgow

I think we should all stay indoors and play video games, eat cakes and listen to Elvis.
Neil Hammond, Nottingham

This is the UK therefore we can't contain any pandemic. Remember bluetongue, foot and mouth and all the others that this shambolic government failed to contain. We'll get more of the same again. But it won't be anyone's fault, it never is.
Bob, Bristol, Bristol

I think the media has really hyped this up way out of proportion before gathering all of the facts, the WHO hasn't helped by escalating it to a five either. I expected more from responsible adults, than flapping around causing a mass panic amongst the naive.
Scott, paisley, Scotland

Look, there have been 17 deaths confirmed due to the swine flu virus worldwide, all of them Mexicans. How does this justify the global panic about this non-event? It's about the same as the number of people killed every two days on Britain's roads!
Tom, Exeter, UK

I just would like to say well done to Hong Kong that acts more seriously and better than other countries to prevent spread of flu virus.
Victoria, London

Quiet news week is it? Get a grip folks, new strains of flu are a regular occurrence - this is not news.
Sean, Cambridge

We should follow the example of China and quarantine travellers from Mexico until the incubation period for the virus has passed.
Doreen Radcliffe, Altrincham, Cheshire

What precautions do I take before swine flu reaches our city?
janice, liverpool

Something which governments have realised over the centuries is that the populace is far easier to control if they are in fear. First there was the War on Terror and people fearing that fundamentalists were going to destroy their way of life. Next came the recession and people being in genuine fear for their jobs and livelihoods. Now comes swine flu and people fearing for their lives. The global media has been complicit in scaremongering and overhyping the issues until the problems have become a reality. In an average flu season, many people die and this is no worse.
Blake Weston, Solihull, UK

As swine flu has not been shown to be fatal in the UK perhaps we should catch it and get the immunity while it's not. Note: I'm not a Doctor. Spike Milligan was right, illness is good for you. News correspondents and newspapers are making a fortune out of this latest scare story. We should keep a close eye on activities in government while this distraction is in place.
Edward, Saffron Walden

Employers these days 'expect' people to work whilst ill and it is frowned upon and made difficult through rules and legislation to have time off when you are ill. Hence many of us struggle on whilst contagious. Until attitudes change this will continue and your swine flu will spread quite nicely.
Andrew Lindop, Connahs Quay

The one thing I would like to come out of this is that it should become socially unacceptable for people to go to work whilst ill. Also, people who send their children into school when they have heavy colds and flu should be forced to keep them at home, whether they can be bothered to look after them or not.
Rachel, Dorset

It would seem, that, we in Britain, with our abundance of drugs dismiss this threat easily. Most of us miss the larger picture here however. Britain does not produce it's own food supplies, only a small percentage of it in fact. While we have our drugs and comfortable existence, how do we expect to fair when we have no food supplies coming anymore? Simply put, we can stop our population being ravished by swine flu, we have drugs against this. Our food suppliers, whom we have become dependant do not. When they all start dying and stop working out of fear, we all start suffering from hunger. This is scenario which governments do not talk about and would prefer not to be addressed. Should this become a pandemic....
Robert, Fort William

Gloom and doom. What will we all die from next? Will there be a new strain of Peruvian common cold? Or will we be told that potatoes are potential killers? I despair. One day, wine is good, next day it's bad. The "5 a day" will likely be rubbished soon, too. Live you lives to the fullest, in moderation, is all I can say. Ignore the "advice" from the "Scientists". The advice changes daily.
Ralph, Cardiff, UK

It is relatively mild thus far... in the UK. But are we just to think of ourselves and forget about developing countries who do not have stocks of tamiflu and cannot afford to buy it? After reading the webpage about how different countries are responding, it is abundantly clear that there is not enough of the antiviral drug stockpiled in many, if not most, of them, should the virus spread like wildfire. If we are blase about the risks and take no precautionary measures, then certainly, our well-stocked country might find it to be no more than a blip in our day-to-day lives. But while we are being blase, we are travelling all over the world, visiting developing countries who are not well-stocked with anti-virals, who could end up in a crisis situation due to their being continually and repeatedly infected by countries who don't care because they can treat it. There appears to be no need to panic as yet, but we do have an obligation to attempt to contain it, even if we can treat it easily, because other countries can't.
Alison, Newcastle, UK.

The usual over reaction caused by a media who will publish anything gloomy. Flu has been on the go, in different strains for thousands of years. so stop panicking. Mankind is still alive and kicking. I am more worried about the rise in food prices.
Ian Ross, Edinburgh

Yeah so we have it here just 2 miles down the road. This is totally irresponsible behaviour allowing people from flights to enter the country unchecked. They should have quarantined people off flights immediately to monitor them, not let them enter the community to spread disease. For goodness sake we are an Island, wake up. Now for the sake of putting those people in quarantine we have a school closed with hundreds of children disrupted, and another person to person infected. So they say that if they have closed flights it would have affected trade etc well if thousands get ill and cant work and even worse die then what will happen to economies. Again there was no reason for this virus to be let loose onto our island.
Denise A, Bristol

Avoid a pandemic by just admitting that it's not a pandemic; or else when a real one comes folks will be desensitized. Furthermore, I think that the coverage is very insulting to the millions who die every year of real pandemic like malaria.
John, Ottawa, Canada

How can we avoid a swine flu pandemic? We can't. But it doesn't seem too dangerous. I would far rather take my chance with it now rather that next winter. So please stop 'protecting' me. Also if it does mutate into something really nasty I would rather my immune system had been 'primed' with the current version.
Mark K, London, UK

It occurs to me that no-one has seriously considered the possibility that the strain of H1N1 that has caused mortality in Mexico is not actually endemic to that region. Instead, it is possible that the strain has been introduced to the region from abroad and has impacted the local population disproportionately due to their lack of endemic resistance to the strain. This would be consistent with epidemiological data on reported rates of mortality within and outside Mexico. If this is true, then the pandemic - or international transmission of the virus - has actually been underway for much longer than has been considered and/or reported. I would be interested to hear back from an expert to refute this hypothesis based on the current evidence that we have.
Glenn Boyle, Ph.D., Canada

The difference between this flu and the other types of flu which kill thousands is that this one promotes such a strong immune response that healthy young people are now at risk rather than the older/compromised patients that your 'average' flu kills. This is why this strain is getting coverage. So yes people should be more worried about swine flu but as yet it hasn't picked up any mutations that could make it a truly deadly threat.
James, Bristol, UK

Are you media people not over this issue yet. It's a prolonged flu season. 150 people have died world wide. Has anyone done the comparison with a usual flu season and the number of deaths? No? I thought not. Stop scaremongering!
Sue, London, UK

I am Mexican and have lived in the UK for many years now, after watching and following the news regarding the current events with the swine flu; I am really disgusted how the scare mongering media has ruined the economy of a country. It is unfortunate that it was Mexico where this virus originated. If it was a "developed" country I am sure that the media would adopt more careful balanced reporting. Currently Mexican people arriving in other countries have been abused and treated as lepers. Do you think that this is right? Please stop being so alarming and concentrate on the facts. You are causing more collapse of the world economy and more unemployment in Mexico where people are not nursed by the government like here!
M, UK

'We've been preparing for a flu epidemic for ages' they tell us. I believe them; all the different agencies have been working together, doing their bit, but, just as they prepared for terrorist attacks, not one of these agencies or Government thought to consider how to communicate with the public, what duty they owe us. In both cases it was clear it hadn't even been thought of, never mind worked out. We are not in the equation, which isn't surprising, given the total contempt those in power have for us, the public, who are just a problem to be negotiated, handled, if we can be bothered to rouse ourselves. Truly, we don't deserve any better, since we've let them get away with murder, literally, for centuries. You, the media are as bad; you know better, but still don't hold them to account
TrickTrash, London

You know what would be way more harmful than swine flu? Shutting down economies that people depend on for their livelihood. Creating global panic and fear. I'm very concerned about this "shut down the borders" attitude. I'm sceptical about the swine flu "pandemic" in multiple ways.
Kay, USA

So it might mutate into something a lot more serious... but for now it's apparently just like normal flu but a bit nastier. But not necessarily deadly. At the moment, if it's just flu, it should be fairly easy to get over. but the stress of being told we're all gonna die isn't helping... stress makes the body more vulnerable to disease. No one cares about plain old flu, but when it's swine flu which is just a slightly worse case of flu, global panic. If it gets to the point where we are actually all in serious danger, go crazy. But right now it doesn't sound much more than flu.
G, England

Last year 34,000 people in the US died of 'common' influenza viruses without so much as a byline in the press. Vaccines have been widely and freely available and still they became infected and died from failure to take the vaccine. It is impossible to stop all cases of common flu let alone new swine flu. The response has been alarmist as if it's the end of the world. Media driven story frenzy is very much to blame and politicians react to hysterical public pressure. This is not the Black Plague.
Mildred, Montreal

Wouldn't be too worried about it at the moment, it is a slightly harmful bug at present. However I don't understand the people getting complacent about this. Yes Bird Flu ended up being a scare. People are forgetting viruses and bugs are in fact extremely clever, and can form defences to anti-viral drugs etc. If swine flu mutates...we could be in trouble.
thecuriousone, Paisley, Scotland

Mark B, London - As an Infection Control Nurse, I am more than capable of explaining to my children, (who are old enough to understand what is going on - they are not that little) what is happening, and how to take precautions themselves. Yes, this virus may only be "just flu" but people die of the complications like Pnuemonia. The fact that it has been reported in the news that a school has been closed because a student has contracted the virus, and other children may also have it, has brought it closer to "their world". Children do not normally have full blown flu! When I said people were being complacent, I meant that it will be sorry state of affairs when all those who say "it's only flu" find themselves or family members struck down with it.
Jo, Berkshire

For all those who say its not serious, why worry? What about people who are susceptible to flu? My mother is, she has weakened immunity and (any) unvaccinated flu is likely to kill her. I am not joking but very, very serious. She lives in self imposed quarantine during the winter and the same now. Until there is a vaccine for this one I won't see her until she has had it. She only lives two miles away! It would be nice if people (especially the government) took this more seriously as its clearly not just flu but the pneumonia that can arise from it, that's the killer. Please stop being so blasé about it, what is one mans little bug is another mans killer and a fear we have to live with all of our lives in this family.
Cheryl, Lincoln

With Mexico's epidemic status, a certified self-quarantined program, eg 7 days without symptoms in an enclosed home etc, before international travel will establish a first line of defence. The current heavy handed quarantine-shutting down 1 hotel due to 1 visitor- is obviously unsustainable if you allow 500 visitors (1 plane-load) with flu to come through with no effective checks before boarding.
Barack Wong, Hong Kong

Although I am not a biologist. I Did take enough of the sciences to know that it's important during any outbreak that the WHO identifies as a risk to take special care to follow their advice. What will be interesting to see is the relationship between stress on countries like economics, their state of being as far as how developed they are, their cultural histories in how they deal with medical emergencies and how they fair with this particular event. That data should signal to the world how important is it for us to focus more on sharing our subsistence strategies and not on how much money we have or whether or not "our way" is "the way".
Daniel Lebovitz, Memphis, TN

Panickers on HYS still cling to their fear - now they're saying that 'sure it's mild now but it might mutate!". ANY virus might mutate. Seasonal flu also mutates - 2 years ago it mutated so much that the vaccine from the start of the season was only 50% effective. And seasonal flu kills 35,000 people in the US in an average year. But it's no reason to panic.
Peter Nelson, Boston MA, USA

It firsts starts of as a minor outbreak, this has happened in the past before as well. nd before we know it, it will spread rapidly. so everyone should be careful in what they touch, especially dirty surfaces (see the swine flu advert).
Zeshan Khan, Birmingham

It seems to me there is a mountain being made out of a mole hill by the media. It is sad that so many people have died but so far there are no other deaths. The flu kills every year and this one seems no different. How does that turn into a pandemic? Either the media has latched onto this story and has run with it or there are missing parts to this story. Either way, I have stopped listening until there is something new to hear.
Kathy, Canada

Wearing face masks gives a false sense of security. It certainly helps in prevention of spread of the flu but it certainly does not help in contracting the flu from someone who is infected.
Kamal Rampersad, Trinidad

Yes, maybe its all hype to most of you. But if you are old, or on immunosuppressants, or a transplant patient, or pregnant, or have a chronic chest, or have HIV, this is a pretty big deal. Are any such people allowed to even have Tamiflu at home so they can take it right away if they get ill ? No. Nor can they buy it online as our wonderful government will even stop you saving yourself. Meanwhile corporate Britain can buy tons of it to dose up perfectly fit people. I give up.
bobthehamster, Harpenden, England

This is 'flu, a mutation as all 'flu viruses are. Why is this being blown up into such a crisis. Even if you catch this particular 'flu, just use common sense although that seems to have one out of the window. Stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids and you will recover. Do not waste health professionals time if you sneeze just the once!
Lynn Scoones, Battle England

Ben - Surbiton. You should check your facts. The swine flu information line is an 0800 number, therefore a free number. NHS direct is a 08454 number 5 pence per minute.
Darren Wheeler, Newbury

How can we avoid a swine flu pandemic? By NOT creating it with an influx of media and global hype. People who sneeze, cough and get the chills will "think" they've got it. Stupid media strikes at the heart of our minds once again.
Simon, Quito Ecuador

For the people who complain it is all being 'overblown' by the media. You are partly right. There is an over abundance of coverage on this issue. However, If the 'swine flu' mutates into a form that is anywhere near the virulence of the 'Spanish Flu' from 1918-1920 we could be looking at millions of deaths worldwide. I think a 7 day period of 'over caution' in order to avoid even a slight risk of millions of death is worthwhile.
Daniel, Middletown, USA

How to spread diseases? Pack a couple of hundred people in a 'plane with constant recirculation of the same old stale air for a few hours and let one infected person sneeze. How to prevent this happening? Put a stop to all unnecessary flights.
Alex the Hat, Cardiff, UK

I cannot believe the fear and anxiety being whipped up and perpetuated by the media about this flu. It's flu not bubonic plague. The poor people in Mexico who died did not have our standard of living nor our health care. Of a population of over 60 million and only 9 confirmed cases, this is overkill taken to the extreme. There is very little news here. Of course it may serve a discredited government to have the population in fear to keep them in line and to divert attention from their many failures.
whistledown, Horsham, England

Excuse me but has everyone forgotten how many millions of people in Africa and Asia die every year from MALARIA ? Oh sorry they live in the 3rd world and don't have broadband/satnav/lcd tv/ipods so they don't matter do they ? Wake up people to the rubbish you are being fed by your governments every day of your lives to keep you in check.
Mike, Luton

By promoting good hygiene but it's mostly down to luck now !
Alan Shirley, Kingston upon Thames

The Mexican pig-flu is giving our health systems the MOT, and those countries with a poor public health system are exposed.
Nick Fawcett, Wye, Kent

Reading through the comments, i have noticed so many people trying to think this is another media hype. Honestly do you think that all those government officials, scientists, WHO officials and many other people are stupid? The WHO pandemic phase 5 was declared after great consideration into the matter. Well some say more people die of other diseases, but why? Ever thought about it? Because those diseases spread out fast, and became hard to control whenever they started. If we do the same, i.e. ignore the current flu problem, then one more deadly virus will be out and about, killing even more people.
HK, London

I think that the press are making this sound bigger than it actually is as hundreds of people die every year in Mexico from normal flu. How do we know that these people have not all died from normal flu, and only a few from swine flu?
Johnny Wright, Abingdon, England

"Swine flu appears to be as mild an illness as the regular flu. Why such hype? Enough already. Yuri "

Had it ever occurred to you that WHO scientists are aware of something that you don't know about? What virologists know (but the public is blissfully ignorant of) is that flu viruses can easily mutate. That's how viruses survive. A global flu pandemic can easily last a year. What scientists are concerned about is that what started out as a comparatively mild strain of flu can suddenly mutate into a strain that's highly virulent and deadly. There can be a 'second wave' of a pandemic that's much more destructive than the first.
Paul Erlich, Birmingham

I wish we could have a five day siesta like the Mexicans. We have 5 probable cases of the flu in Wisconsin too. Why can't we have five days off work? This whole event is totally silly. I have sympathy for those very few people who have lost loved ones but the hysteria is ridiculous. If this is what happens when a different and mild flu strain comes along what will happen when a real crisis happens?
Susan, Waukesha, USA

There are fewer people who walk through the streets not wearing masks to protect themselves after the announcement made by the Hong Kong government that the first confirmed case has occurred. I have no idea why Hongkongers ignore the alert as this deadly flu has just reached our place. Why?
Paulchee, Hong Kong

We should be fine if we neglect reading the media. They get us all confused.
Alexis, Halifax, Canada

You can't avoid a pandemic. The world is a lot smaller nowadays and people travel across the globe 24/7. This is just life in modern age.
Elizabeth, Redmond, USA

The point is not how serious this illness is now but how serious a form it will become. While I obviously denounce any panic at any stage in this outbreak, anyone with medical expertise would agree with the WHO that this situation needs to be closely monitored and people kept informed, although sweeping tabloid headlines are not the way to do this.
Tom Kealy, Luton

There should be a programme whereby key workers can volunteer to be exposed to the virus now so that when the epidemic really hits in the autumn, there will be people who can keep things going when the rest are laid up in bed.
Guy Harvey, Newcastle

I can't believe that the NHS phone number for help on swine flu is a premium number!!
Ben, Surbiton, Surrey

I've been making the very same comment myself re why not stop the flights in and out till the storm has passed over is this not logic?
Graham New, Portugal

Strict hygienic measures were taken to effectively control cholera in Peru in 1991 after demonising, mistakenly, fish. Now the Peruvian's ordeal seems to be repeating in Mexico, but this time it's not fish, it's pigs instead.
Eder Medina, Lima, Peru

Added to the virtual panic over economic problems in the capitalist world, this flu and the hype accompanying it makes it easy for people leap into the news media-generated abyss. Part of the problem has been US government's misinformation and nearly hourly change-of-mind announcements. The US Centre for Disease Control has been a monument to confusion since the flu first began, which only adds to many people's hysteria.
Sack the Politicians, USA

So many comments, so much ignorance. Spanish flu was mild early in its spring appearance, devastating in the fall - when it killed "just" one or two percent of the infected in North America. The virus hasn't fully adapted to humans yet, we have no idea what's to come. Yes it's true, this cloud will probably pass, but it still pays to come in out of the rain.

As for official medical ignorance - we discovered this year that Vitamin D is also a hormone that down regulates the immune system, so young people at risk ought to be advised to take it to prevent cytokine storm. Studies after SARS proved that N95 masks were VERY effective in preventing infection, contrary to what had been thought (and is still often said.) They are very cheap (for industrialized nations), and should be in every first aid kit.
Joe Thorpe, New York, USA

I'm scared of swine flu, I hope it doesn't affect us. Lets hope the engineers can make the perfect cure.
JD, Las Vegas

Everything is pretty controlled here, pretty calm. We have not had a single case, the population is tranquil even despite the massive fear that the media world is causing. Yes it is true it can be contagious, but give us a break. Hundreds of thousand of people get infected by regular flu every day and no one ever paid attention to it. The economical damage that the media is provoking to these country is enormous because of the fear they have created, I lost my job and so have thousands. I live in a city that can be an easy target, I don't have it, my friends and family don't have it and the friends of my friends they dot not have it either.
Emmanuel, Puerto Vallarta

I can't see what all the worry is about. Very few have died, much less than in a regular flu season. It seems like a lot of hype to me.
Patrick, Philadelphia, PA

According to the BBC website we have 484 confirmed cases from a world population of 6.8 billion. Am I alone in thinking this is all an unnecessary panic generated by the media? In a way it is a good thing this came along, as now no one appears to be worrying about the global economy.
Trev The Sparky, Newcastle, UK

My advice would be to catch this flu early while the NHS is offering red carpet treatment. Unpleasant and risky it may be but at least you will not be in a queue for treatment.
Jim, Chichester, West Sussex

What concerns me is that, as Jack commented, the 1918 flu was deadliest for those people with the most effective immune systems - young healthy people - and this swine flu is likely to be the same. Mexican borders should be closed until this situation calms down. Anyone who even considers going on holiday to Mexico in the near future is obviously not too bright and needs to be saved from themselves.
Kate, Newcastle

Extreme poverty kills more than swine flu might do every year, yet we see none of the media hype about that. Even in wealthy Britain the old can die from lack of enough heat or food. Perhaps it's the fact that flu takes no account of wealth that has got everyone so excited. After all, the rich might die too!
Mark Pearson, Bicester, UK

Do what your mother told you: Cover your mouth when you sneeze, stay home in bed when sick, don't spit or snot, wash your hands and keep your distance out of others' personal space. As for the rest of it? It is all complete hysterical tosh including flu jabs and face masks. It's just the flu with a different name!!
Dave B (Brit ex-pat), Uxbridge, Canada

Keep healthy, stop tiring yourself and doing dangerous life threatening sports. Our immune system is more about our everyday health, so keeping well, or not getting flu, is about being able to fight these viruses off. Unfortunately our cleaning and so called health industry have got their sticky fingers into the here and now, rather than prevention.
Len Gilbank, Eastbourne, Sussex

So far this virus is behaving exactly like regular flu, killing only the very vulnerable and those living in poor conditions. This is not big news, people.
Adrian, Cardiff, UK

Someone who said that it would be a good idea to have alcohol hand-gels like Purrell for home school and bus are talking foolishness. Purrell does kill 99.9 percent of germs, but the other .1 percent are resistant to the alcohol, so they mutate and reproduce, creating viruses that are completely immune to it. Warm water and soap is enough!!
Peter, Burlington, Vermont, USA

Why do you keep on about this swine flu? Get real. More people die every winter from regular flu. Stop scaremongering and report some real news.
Bill Brown

Swine flu appears to be as mild an illness as the regular flu. Why such hype? Enough already.
Yuri

More and more cases are coming from Mexico, common sense would dictate that if you stop the flights from Mexico, you therefore minimise the number of new cases entering the country. Therefore why are we being told by the EU Health Ministers that there is no point in a travel ban. It makes sense. For example, when we had foot and mouth in UK, there was a worldwide ban on imports of meat from UK to many countries. Therefore it is common sense to stop arrivals from Mexico to stop the spread of swine flu. Whatever happened to common sense?
Jon Ruiz, Andalucia, Spain

This sort of news is exactly what keeps us alive: Drama and Chaos in an otherwise dull day in the US suburbia!
MKS, New York

"The BBC is now spreading misinformation. It is no longer called the swine flu - please correct your stories lest more people think it can be spread through pigs or eating pork. Alex, Boston, USA "

While pork products are safe pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses.
Ged, St Pete, Florida, USA

One way to avoid the pandemic is not to believe all that our hysterical media are pumping out. Every illness is some tragedy, and 168 deaths that may be related to H1N1 are serious, but many more people die from obesity every month. Haven't you guys got something better to write about? What about a sense of proportion for a change?
Andrew Dundas, Ilkley, UK & Florida

In the past when there was no cure for TB, smallpox or other such killer diseases people would be in severe panic when any of those broke out, but now they take such diseases very slightly because they know there are dependable preventive and curative treatments. I wonder, why are we not yet succeeding to find preventive and curative treatment against 'bird flu' or now 'swine flu'? Men have conquered land after land and some space planets too as well as lots of inventions and discoveries. Why do they not care to conquer these killer diseases?
AR Shams, Pakistan

The only ways of avoiding swine flu for now is to reduce family outings. Governments should make sure that all those places which are congested such as schools, cinema halls and others are closed until this deadly flu is contained.
Honest Bwembya, Ndola, Zambia

1. Use common sense , wash hands frequently.

2. Remember, in most cases the flu is mild and self-limited.

3. Do not panic after listening to excessive and sensational media coverage.
Nabila Choudhri, Toronto

We need to stop the media-induced mass hysteria and get on with our lives.
Wilbur Watson, Bangor, Wales

I think I might be worried if I lived in Mexico but, frankly, I'm unconcerned here. There are far too many deaths each day from other causes, and if my number's up, then so be it.
Milvusvestal, Ramsey, England

The BBC is now spreading misinformation. It is no longer called the swine flu - please correct your stories lest more people think it can be spread through pigs or eating pork.
Alex, Boston, USA

We have experience SARS and seen the horror. But it was contain only in Asia. But 'swine flu' will most surely be global and this only that we are all one irrespective of countries or race. Lets us all be united.
RossJules, Singapore

Some of the comments on here are laughable: Jo from Berkshire...no wonder your kids are scared if you're incapable of speaking sense to them. No one has died in the UK from it, yet we're all being complacent? We don't know much about it, but it could be the next pandemic? Please, for the sake of your children, turn off the TV and worry about something else. This is a media storm purely for the benefit of the media. Up to 0.5m people die a year from normal flu. Are your children worried that they might die from that too, as it seems far more likely? Or do you just scare them with what they papers tell you to scare them with?
Mark B, London

Our citizens are being told not to make physical contact with anyone in public. As an "air kiss" on the cheek or an handshake is the normal greeting, it is causing stress at a cultural level.
Patricia Stenlund, San Ramon, Costa Rica

Why are plane loads of passengers coming from Mexico having sat in a confined space together for several hours being allowed to disembark and come into direct contact with hundreds of people. Would some form of quarantine and monitoring not reduce the chances of the virus spreading through our communities. Where is the common sense approach.
Ruth Hay, Fakenham Uk

Fact outside of Mexico 1 person has died out of 150+ cases a mortality rate of less than 1% Fact in Mexico there is no clear idea who has died of swine flu and how many cases, there are 7 confirmed deaths. NVCJD was going to kill millions. Spanish flu came after WW1conditions were perfect for it to spread thousands of soldiers coming home in mass transports poor health systems in ravaged economies. Let's try and keep a sense of proportion.
John Creek, London

In the school days I knew about Flu and Dengue fevers. Then recently we came to know about SARS and bird flu. Now swine flu is alarmingly scaring all mainly by the media reportage from USA, Europe, etc. though it has started from Mexico. Precautionary measures should be popularised to avert in other parts of the world. If public hygiene is maintained this cannot happen again. Pollution is the main problem that causes all crises along with diseases as this pandemic one! Clean world is the best solution and panacea for healthy life for all!
T A Ramesh, Pondicherry, India

Media fear mongering, end of story. Regards, vast majority of people (thanks for reflecting our views)
Darren, London

If the government warns us, and if the media warns us, then they are over reacting, if both the Government and the media fail to keep us updated, then they are incompetent, Makes you think?
El Sid

Look, we need alcohol gel hand wash in school and for home, everywhere, really. Oh and we should have them on buses
Dylan, Birmingham

Why don't the governments of the world do what Mexico do and shut the country down, sure it will have an economic impact but isn't saving lives more important. This virus has the potential to mutate again and become more dangerous so governments around the world need to act now or face losing lives. Why do they not put their emergency plans in action now, before it is too late?
Craig, Doncaster, UK

Has anybody noticed that the majority of deaths have been in Mexico, who, let's face it, has a poor health system? Much like Bird Flu, where the majority of deaths were within communities where those who died either spent their lives around birds or were close to those who did. Keep clean, keep alert, but don't panic. That's my advice.
Richard, Hobart, Australia

Why is this any more dangerous than any other form of flu? New versions of the flu virus continue to evolve. Flu can be fatal so what's special about this one?
Vince, Huddersfield, England

About ten people died yesterday on the roads, why is the money not available to control this ongoing waste of life?
BarryP, Havant England

Why panic over something that happens every year? flu kills hundreds of people in this country every year! What's new? If you are worried, take a low dosage vitamin C supplement. It won't stop you from catching the Flu, but you will recover from it quicker and have it milder than every one else.
Brian, London

While i believe that the mass hysteria is largely misplaced , it has in its own way helping to keep a serious pandemic at bay - people are aware now and are going out of their way to keep good hygiene and watch for symptoms.

From the information at hand I'm of the opinion that we are just going to see something similar to a 'nasty outbreak' of winter flu - Genuinely unpleasant and not without casualties but certainly not Armageddon.
Jon, Wolverhampton

What a joke... media are whipping up a stupid and gormless public... get a life and get back to work
John Baillie, Prestwick

At the moment I'm not that worried swine flu. So far the vast majority of people that have contracted it have only had mild symptoms. As with any flu virus some people suffer worse then others, and deaths as a result of flu is not unheard of. I don't see that point of people wearing masks and rubber gloves, as it really isn't going to provide you with any real protection.
Nick, Watford, UK

Let's get those bins back in the underground so tissues can be binned instead of left on seats, which is what happens. Also food outlets should provide hand washing facilities rather than insist that you buy food *before* using their toilets.
Paul Goddard, London, UK

With a world population of almost seven billion, thirteen confirmed deaths? Why so much panic? Undoubtedly more people have died from regular flu this year.
Anon, UK

Practice proper hygiene, avoid crowded placed, but don't panic. This will be contained in the near future.
Dominick, Florida, USA

So far I have not read or heard ANYTHING to justify the mass hysteria being whipped up by the media - we're now being told this is just a normal, every day flu bug, so why is the WHO whipping it up with 'pandemic' alerts and people talking about travel bans and 'shutting down' services? I've got a holiday booked in Mexico in July and I'm not going to let the threat of a bout of flu ruin it.
Paul Newham, Leeds, UK

The way to avoid a pandemic which is created by a virus that is not capable of jumping continents is to stop people from travelling. It's simple, less migration, less impact by viruses such as swine flu. Oh and I saw a rather apt cartoon in one of the free papers on the train the other day, it's caption was along the lines of "and over to our health correspondent, who will make things sound 10 times worse than they really are"...
Raven Morpheus, Braintree, Essex, UK

Sounding the warning is a good preventive approach. However, over sounding it could have detrimental effects. If people are dissuaded from going about their regular businesses, obviously the economy would be harmed. Masks and gloves are a bit too much of a precautionary measure at this time as it may generate pandemonium. Simple hygiene procedures: washing ones hands regularly, covering mouth when coughing etc, should be encouraged. But most importantly paying proper attention to what, where and how one eats/drinks should be top priority. In cases were symptoms are clear, medical attention should be sought immediately.
Gerald Alor, Leicester, UK

This virus is worrying. We have no way of knowing whether it will escalate into a more severe flu or not. My children are terrified that they may contract it and die from it, even though, so far no one in the UK has died from it. Too many people are being too complacent about it. Yes, we have had scares in the past with SARS and Bird Flu, but this one may be the pandemic scientist have been worried about! It is a virus that won't distinguish between race, religion, age, sex or dietary preferences!
Jo, Berkshire

First stop over reacting. Second, wash your hands.
Daniel , Philadelphia, PA, USA

If one good thing comes out of this situation, it will be educating those who do not cover their mouths/noses when sneezing/coughing.
Claire Herbert, London

"When all's said and done, it's merely flu. I'd be worried if it were a serious illness, but flu?"Megan, Cheshire, UK

"Merely" flu? Influenza is and has always been a killer among vulnerable groups. The reason most don't understand this is because so many people confuse flu with a bad cold or have only been mildly affected. If you've ever had a serious dose of flu you'll know the difference.
Helen, London

I don't want to play into the mass hysteria here, but I think to say that flu is not a serious illness is the sort of comment that only comes from people who have never had it. Real flu is not a bad cold with aches and mild pain, I have had real flu and I didn't know if I was going to make it. ALL kinds of flu are dangerous, respect that and follow good hygiene procedures. I think if you have had contact with anyone who has it, or is suspected of having it, stay home until the incubation time has passed as by the time the symptoms are showing you have already passed it on.
Sam West, Torbay, UK

Dumbest thing I've heard yet. "If you have a cold you can't get the flu."
Mike, Tucson, USA

The govt are doing nothing to stop this spread. What is the point in the WHO when alls they say is that closing borders does not work, get on with it in your own country. No isolation for people coming in from Mexico? What about those five ill men on the plane with the Honeymoon couple? Why has Obama set up lots of camps in America and ordered thousands of troops to patrol America in Peacetime? Its like they want us to catch it. Then they can gain control. Don't trust the government to look after you, look after yourselves and your families.
Ritch, England

Nothing to worry about? Why are the army coming home a month before schedule? Its no good spouting about how many people die from normal flu, this strain may be mild now, but if it mutates or merges with normal flu in the winter months, it will make the normal flu season look like a walk in the park. Even if it doesn't hit too hard in the spring, I am preparing for the winter. Stock up on supplies just in case. You never know....
Clare, Wales

Swine flu is a cause of concern to the world. Human Life value is much more important than any thing else on the planet earth. Mexico has a big challenge on hand. They need to fight this swine Flu with minimum damage to human race and come out as a winner as early as possible. God and world will help them in this mission. Me and my countries prayers and good wishes are with them and rest of the world where ever this Swine Flu has spread.
Rajeev Batra, Mumbai, India

I think it's already too late...we're doomed! In case anyone's interested I've built a bunker from old copies of the Daily Express and Government leaflets on how to avoid the flu...why not come and join me! Sorry, no pigs aloud.
James, Bristol

You can't avoid it. You might as well say how cab we hold back the sea with an egg cup! You can't avoid other people and each person carries germs. Perhaps now, communication over the Broadband network will come into it's own with people working from home. This will not prevent an epidemic but will at least cut down on the amount of germs moving about.
Stephen Robertson, Dinnington, South Yorks

I live in Scotland just three miles from Airdrie and I'm not that worried about it as long as you keep good personal hygiene you should be fine and watch what you touch Railings in shopping centres desks people etc... I think we will have it under control soon I just hope that the death toll does not go up I hope I have helped.
Alana McCulloch, Lanarkshire, Scotland

This is an excuse for martial law. It is made by the US government, tailored to their needs. A worse one is coming, mark my words.
Truthbringer, Midlands

Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I'm looking forward to being stronger.
Malcolm, Bacup, England

By not talking about it so much - is the media crying wolf?
Bernard Meares, Geneva, Switzerland

These types of flu come and go quite quite quickly - so the best way to control it is probably the Mexican way - stay at home for five days. Also, if this flu is like the 1918 flu, it was those with the most effective immune systems that died (by suffocating from the excessive mucus in the lungs).
Jack, Africa

It is only flu. we get this every year in the UK and people die from it. I fail to see what all the fuss is about.
Alan, Newport, Shropshire

In the last 10 years I have lived in six countries which means extreme climate changes, water, food, bacteria and germs. I also spend six months attending to someone who was terminally ill - in hospitals and hospices daily; yet more germs. I caught one snuffle and one cold during that period. I rarely get sick. Until this past Christmas when I caught a flu I am still recovering from, four months later. I was unable to last much longer than two hours at a time for the first two months. Prelude to swine fu? Don't know. Whatever this is, do not dismiss or disregard it. It's not an average flu bug. If I had a weaker constitution I suspect I might be dead by now.
Lee, Canada

I think everyone should take a leaf out Mexico's book and shut down and stay at home at least then there be a less of a chance of spreading the infections to people
Laura Williams, Llanelli, Wales

Let nature take its own course. If this virus originated in Africa, no body would have noticed. This is a rich man's hysteria because Mexico is a one of the rich man's major destination. Deadly opportunistic virus like ebola come and go and that how nature operates. This virus was there and will be but now it got the conditions right to mushroom and with time will return to its normal state.
Sam, Canada

What really concerns me is the fact that large pharmaceutical companies can greatly benefit from Pandemics, boosting product sales by a considerable amount. Surely much tighter restrictions/regulations should be put into place in a pandemic/epidemic situation. We have all seen what greed and lack of regulation can do to an industry and the negative impact on humanity. We cannot allow the same to happen within the pharmaceutical industry.
Paul Barenz, London

I'm more worried about the pandemic stupidity which appears to have broken out over this issue. You are more at risk of dying in a car accident this weekend that of getting swine flu let alone dying of it but is anyone suggesting not getting into a car? NO! Get a grip!
Chris C, London

Wouldn't staying in Mexico be much safer than herding any more waiting travellers together into aluminium tubes, to infect each other as they fly half way round the world. Or is mass infection just inevitable and best get it over with (and cultivate the antibodies) sooner rather than later?
Alex, Crawley

I plan to do nothing and hope the media finds a different story to sensationalise soon.
Simon, London, UK

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