Things To Know: Swine Flu

I was originally going to write about an apology video posted by Dominos Pizza about a series of disgusting videos posted on YouTube by two former employees. But there are bigger issues in the world than people farting on food.

The last few days have been abuzz about swine flu. What is the swine flu? Is this the next coming of SARS? Can I get it from eating pork? I'm watching CNN right now and the station is doing a full hour of coverage on swine flu, as well as following Twitter. CNN is talking about how 8 or 9 students at a New York school show signs of having it, two people in Kansas have been confirmed to have it and according to Breaking News on Twitter, 200 high school students in Queens, New York have it. Can't confirm that last one, but it's spreading across Twitter like wildfire.

I'm no expert on the matter, and news of this is breaking as I'm typing this. But I thought I'd offer you a few resources to brush up on the issue at hand. Pretty much any news outlet would be a good start, but here's a few other places to look.


Q&A: What Is Swine Flu?

This is a Q&A compiled by the Associated Press on the matter. Before watching CNN, I started here.


1976: The Swine Flu Scare

It's not the first time we've had a swine flu scare. The strain of flu going around now however is probably different from what's happening right now.


HOW TO: Track Swine Flu Online

Mashable has put together a pretty solid guide on tracking the latest news about the virus. Not sure that the people that read my blog are going to configure their Google News Alerts or follow HealthMap, but I'm putting it out there for everyone that wants that level of information.


Twitter Search

Maybe not the most accurate resource. But people will be quick to point out anything interesting that comes up. And you can never get enough of fun insights like:

chicshockey NBC interrupts game for a swine flu alert in US and Mexico. Way to down hot dog slaes! This means that I will only eat Canadian bacon.

ZenGrifter RT @islandbell: You can't get Swine Flu from eating Pork......Bring on the Baby Back Ribs. : )

KristiGiff26 Your mom has the swine flu less than 20 seconds ago from TwitterFon

Also, here are a few jot notes I know that I can pass along to you:

- Swine flu primarily passes from pig-to-person, but it's also spreading from person-to-person
- Scientists are not sure if it will blow up into a pandemic or die down on its own
- The virus only needs 1-3 days after exposure to incubate
- Every identified case of Swine Flu in the US have been minor cases
- The current strain of swine flu spreading now is actually four different viruses put together

Keep your eyes open on this subject, as it could be a real big issue in our world in the coming days and weeks!