Don't panic about flu — just wash hands a lot

Commodity traders are apparently fretting over the swine flu outbreak, too. Oil futures fell more than 4 percent Monday, over concern the outbreak could stall global economic recovery.

Come now. Let's all take a moment and compose ourselves. Panic won't help anything.

But we can't operate as business as usual, either. The world is highly mobile, and past global flu pandemics have killed hundreds of thousands of people. These bugs are constantly at work attempting to invade their hosts.

However, there's a global surveillance effort under way. Antiviral drugs are being made available to the states. The seasonal flu vaccine you had late last year may provide some protection. A swine flu vaccine could conceivably be developed, although most cases of swine flu have been so mild that it doesn't appear to be necessary.

The best thing to do? Monitor events and wash your hands. Then wash your hands again, just to be sure.

Marjorie Cortez, who's had a hankering for bacon since the start of the swine influenza outbreak (swine flu viruses are not transmitted by food, says the CDC), is a Deseret News editorial writer. E-mail her at marjorie@desnews.com