The Great Mexican-Pig-Monster Scare of '09

Fear-mongering has been blessed with a relatively large role in our lives as of late, especially with the H1N1 epidemic and the 2012 scare. This dynamic-duo of anxiety harvesting conspiracies has somehow remained relevant for quite some time. Considering the flood of information involved with both of these terrifying theories, it may be hard for one to discern what's true, and what isn't. That being said, let's take a look at what's actually known regarding the H1N1 (or Swine Flu) epidemic.

The H1N1 virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was brought into the United States from Mexico during mid-2009. The symptoms for H1N1 are very much similar to the symptoms for the seasonal flu. According to WebMD, the symptoms for H1N1 "are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore-throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue. . . diarrhea and vomiting." Taking a glance at the section on the regular flu, it's evident that, with a few minor exceptions, the symptoms are essentially the same.

So, it seems as if the Swine Flu (H1N1) could very well just be a slight variation of the regular flu. However, there are some differences. According to msnbc, the swine flu has killed roughly 11,000 since it has existed in the U.S. It's a bit more difficult to find statistics on the regular flu (influenza), though. The CDC website elaborates on why: "First, states are not required to report individual seasonal flu cases or deaths of people older than 18 years of age to CDC. Second, seasonal influenza is infrequently listed on death certificates of people who die from flu-related complications [12]." Keeping this in mind, the CDC estimates that "roughly 17,000 to 52,000" people die from the seasonal flu each year. This estimation may not be the most accurate, but it does illustrate that, at the very least, more people have died from the seasonal flu than from the Swine Flu.

Now let's recap.

The Swine Flu is a disease that initially entered the United States via Mexico. Once in the U.S. it was observed to have the same symptoms of the regular flu, and has even taken less lives. Regardless of all of this, one-fifth of the U.S. population was still convinced into getting an H1N1 vaccine. The media undoubtedly played a huge role in conjuring up fear related to this epidemic, but why?

The fact that 20% of Americans received a flu shot goes to show that the medical industry certainly wasn't hurt as a result of the epidemic. Also, one factor that sets H1N1 apart from the seasonal flu is that it immigrated from Mexico. Perhaps a conspiracy theorist could find some sort of correlation between the fear of swine flu, and the threat of illegal immigration. This seems a bit unlikely, though.

Thankfully, the disease seems to be a minor threat, and for the most part, we should all be safe.