First Confirmed Swine Flu Death in U.S.

The first fatality in the United States due to the swine flu has now been reported as of this morning. Today it is confirmed that a child has been the first casualty of death by swine flu in this late breaking pandemic scare. This first of the swine flu deaths in the U.S. has occurred in Texas, reports the director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

While over 2,500 cases of the swine flu have now been suspected around the world, only just over 100 (112, to be exact) have actually been confirmed. The worldwide swine flu scare has people wearing surgical masks and being extra cautious when entering public places. Hundreds of public venues were ordered to be closed by Mexican officials until early May.

A disease outbreak that occurs on a large scale often has many individuals becoming afraid due to the media craze that inevitably surrounds it. While mass media such as television, radio, and the internet are often the best media through which to communicate the seriousness of an outbreak like the swine flu virus, the methods by which media outlets report the news is also very important for staving off the knee-jerk reactions that many people have and maintaining a calm atmosphere in the midst of a stressful time. The media at large, however, does not often do this job efficiently, and we have seen a repeat of historical methods in this latest swine flu outbreak.