What's everyone's take on this?

I really have no opinion. I'm not even sure if I am supposed to be worried or not. It has been a non-issue in my life. Occasionally a friend will tell me someone he knows "got the swine." Oh really? He's better now, cool. Would you have told me if he had caught a cold? This whole thing is weird. Especially because it won't change. This year is last year was bird flu, this year is swine flu, give it a few more years and no one will be leaving their house for fear of Crocodile Flu. Disease isn't something that goes away. It mutates as we adapt and cure and treat. And for some reason we always freak the freak out.  I'm fairly certain a lot of what has been going on is fear-mongering by media for money-making purposes. But even so, if the attention from the news causes people to be just a little bit more health conscious, why shouldn't they cover it to death like they are?

Cases are on the rise I'm told. Is this a fact I should feign surprise to? Flu cases always tend to rise when it gets cold out. What's different about this one? If we take the word swine away, what are we left except a fact of winter existence?

My opinion is westernized of course. I have treatments readily available should I fall ill. How then is swine flu treated elsewhere across the world? I know in Egypt they killed all the pigs. Cairo is now overrun with trash that before had always been consumed by their garbage pigs. It was an impulsive move decided before Swine Flu had even been accounted for in Egypt and before it came out pigs don't actually spread the disease.

Will there ever be a time when rationality will win the day when it comes to outbreaks of disease? You would think in the 666ish years since plague in Europe our system would be perfected. But fear of death (or really contamination) still seems to muddle our brain cells.

What is swine flu like in your countries or homes? Is it a fear or a nuisance or a nothing? How should we as a community deal with it?