Panic on the streets of London. Panic on the streets of Cancun. Swine flu is causing panic all over the world, the aporkalypse is here!
Well, maybe not quite, but the threat of a global pandemic caused by a new strain of flu is understandably getting people hot under the collar, and with around 168 people dead in Mexico, it is of course always better to be safe than sorry.
However, panic does strange things to people. In fact, sometimes they just go plain crazy, like the Egyptian government, which has just ordered the slaughter of over 300,000 pigs, despite the tiny detail that both the United Nations, and the World Health Organisation agree the spread of the disease has nothing whatsoever to do with either live pigs or eating pork. "There is no reason to do that," said Joseph Domenech, of the UN Food and Agriculture Office, "It's not a swine influenza, it's a human influenza." Those pigs have been getting some bad press.
Some might still argue that the Egyptians are playing it safe, having had a rough time during the bird flu virus - but pig farmers who scratch out a living in the slums of Cairo have seen their livelihoods destroyed overnight. Just to increase the tension, there is also a religious element, as the Muslim majority in Egypt do not raise pigs anyway. This means that the Christian minority are accusing the Egyptian government of telling porkies, by using the panic over swine flu to persecute the slum-dwelling "Zebaleen" rubbish collectors, who live in poverty with their porcine friends amongst the rubbish dumps of the Egyptian capital.
That is the thread which runs between these stories despite the thousands of miles which separate them - not flu, but poverty. For example, two drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, are currently being used to treat cases of the flu which have developed in other parts of the world, and have so far proved largely effective as long as they are administered early enough. Indeed, the UK Government has confirmed that it is already stockpiling Tamiflu. The resources to do this, and to treat patients quickly, are simply not available in the developing world.
Simultaneously, dense overpopulation and unhygienic living conditions combine in slum areas to increase the speed at which disease spreads. Even though the Mexican government has attempted to shut down shops and restaurants where the disease could be spread, many have stayed open because shopkeepers say they simply cannot afford to keep their doors closed. This is the sharp end where disease and poverty meet, and as always it is those who have the least who will suffer most.
Words: Kevin E.G. Perry