The front page of the Herald this morning was pretty much given over to swine flu – how many cases there might be in NZ, various public health concerns, that sort of thing. I thought it was a bit excitable, but still, understandable I guess & hopefully will raise public awareness of some of the issues associated with any potential disease outbreak.
Page 2 has a bit more (well, quite a lot more), including some of the science. One cause for concern with this virus, for example, is the fact that it appears to be a ‘triple reassortant’ – it contains genetic material from pig, bird & human flu viruses, which could mean it’s more virulent than any of those on their own.
But I wanted more. And since this is the internet, I found it. It’s the Aetiology blog, written by an epidemiologist, which has an excellent commentary on some of the key issues relating to this swine flu outbreak. I think I’ll be a regular visitor there.
Grant says:
While Aetiology is good, it usually doesn’t get many articles. Expect long gaps in between articles unless there is a topical issue, like the present swine flu.
I thought the NZ Science Media Center (http://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/) is doing pretty well on this, too.