[LINK] Extract of comp.risks item: CNN article on "normal flu" mortalities (from J. Epstein)

[Phillip Musumeci]

Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:05:07 -0400
From: Jeremy Epstein <jeremy.j.epstein at gmail.com>
Subject: CNN gets it right on flu scare

Many of us frequently lambaste the media for their scare tactics.  For a
change, CNN got it right today, putting the flu scare in proportion.

> Regular flu has killed thousands since January

> There had been no confirmed deaths in the United States related to swine
> flu as of [`until' would now be correct] Tuesday afternoon.  But another
> virus had killed thousands of people since January and is expected to
> keep killing hundreds of people every week for the rest of the year.
>
> That one? The regular flu.
>
> [...]  But even if there are swine-flu deaths outside Mexico -- and
> medical experts say there very well may be -- the virus would have a long
> way to go to match the roughly 36,000 deaths that seasonal influenza
> causes in the United States each year.  [...]

[http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/regular.flu/index.html]

Now if only the media can be convinced to use the same level-headed risk
analysis when it comes to technology risks....

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