Reply #69: Influenza is pandemic and holds the possibility of increased mortality every year.

[Maru Kitteh]

Actually it's globally endemic with the exception of Antartica so there is at least a bit of "hype" involved with the novelty of this flu. What's good about that?

1. People are reminded to WASH THEIR DAMN HANDS, something they should be doing anyway.
2. People are reminded to stay at home if they are sick.
3. People are reminded to keep their children at home when ill.
4. Hopefully it will bring some attention to plain old normal mundane H1N2 flu.

All of your steps are completely appropriate.

I don't even bother with the tinfoil brigade any more. The biology of viral drift and shift is so simple it should be understandable to even the bottom of any high school graduation class - but the tinfoil brigade has no use for science.