pandemics

A game called The Great Flu, developed by virologists at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, lets you unleash the flu virus of your choice on the world, then use your $2 billion budget to contain it through a palette of public health moves.

Playing it, I've certainly gained a little knowledge about the flu and a lot of empathy for the WHO.

After yesterday's announcements by the World Health Organization, calling swine flu "unstoppable" and noting that there might not be enough vaccine produced by the time flu season rolls around, the debate began over what to do with the small amount of H1N1 vaccine that will be produced this year.

When the words "Baltimore" and "rat" appear together, they usually involve a discussion of the fate of The Wire's Wallace or a DVD featuring Carmelo Anthony. However, unlike the alleged turncoats, it seems that actual rodents really do hold down their block. According to a new study in Molecular Ecology by a team of Johns Hopkins scientists, Norwegian rats are as neighborhood-oriented as any of the bipedal residents of Charm City.

I know, I know. You had moved on. It was fun while it lasted, but you sent H1N1 your breakup mix tape, gave it back the underwear it left in your apartment, and now you've started a new relationship happily reading about the new BMW 7-series or possible Supreme Court nominees. Well, unfortunately, swine flu is still out there, and swine flu news wants to get back together. This time, we can make it work.

So, despite some media hysteria last week, it looks like the swine flu won't be the death of us all. However, that does not mean the virus has stopped spreading, or that it won't reach pandemic levels and possibly cause significant economic damage.

More often than not, it’s the newer diseases, like HIV or Ebola, that grab all the headlines. But those Johnny-come-lately microbes have nothing on one of the most dangerous, and most ancient, viruses that afflicts mankind: influenza.

The hardest part of writing about the swine flu outbreak has been striking the right tone. No doubt, this is a serious threat, as even a mild flu pandemic, on the order of the 1968 Hong Kong flu, would cause significant economic downturn at a time when the country already faces immense financial problems. On the other hand, hyping the threat does a disservice to the very public that the media intends to help.

It's been three days since swine flu made it to the front page of most newspapers, and I'd like to thank all the readers who have chosen to follow PopSci's coverage, instead of retreating to their basements with ammo and clean water. Here are some highlights from the ongoing media frenzy.

And now some good news to end the day. This afternoon, after the US Center for Disease raised the number of swine flu cases in America from 20 to 40, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the pandemic threat level from three to four, out of six. Level four means the virus has been observed transferring from human host to human host without an animal intermediary, and is the final step before the WHO declares a pandemic underway.