The outbreak of swine flu has just started to attract the world’s attention a
week ago but now, it has spread to Asia with an alarming speed.
Although the A (H1N1) Pandemic's fatality rate is not as high as SARS, its
spreading capacity is far beyond SARS. Therefore, the outbreak of swine flu
would most likely happen in Asian cities with high crowd density and high
population density, such as Hong Kong, which has reported its first swine case.
It is now at a high risk, just like the situation during the outbreak of SARS.
Whether human beings could successfully resist such massive virus, it mainly
depends on four lines of defence. The first line of defence is body’s
resistance. Rapidly mutating viruses become more and more powerful, leaving no
way for human resistance system to resist their invasions. Even if the swine flu
could soon “disappear”, I believe there would be an outbreak of another terrible
virus.
"Human beings are only signing their own death warrants if they care only their
own benefits."
Also, environmental pollution and chemical substances are gradually weakening
our immune system. Therefore, human body has in fact long been defeated by
invisible viruses.
The second line of defence would be confidence. We must be confident to avoid
panic as panic would lead to mistakes in decision-making, including
indiscriminate destruction of swine.
We
can defeat the virus only by adhering to the belief and keep fighting. And only
with confidence, we can maintain the dignity of fighting the virus.
The third line of defence is mobility. Rapid actions and strategies are the key
to prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, the government’s attitude is very
important. It should not cover up the cases because of fear of exposure.
Otherwise, it would take the people’s lives at risk; the Mexican government
would be the best example.
Other than preventive measures, we must intensify the invention of vaccines. It
would be a business for vaccine developers, of course. They will invest in the
vaccine invention only if they can see the potential to make money. When the
swine flu disappears, the vaccine developers may lose their interests in it. But
no one can tell whether the virus will be back.
The invention of a new vaccine will take 4-6 months time and it requires a few
more months for mass production. Human beings are only signing their own death
warrants if they care only their own benefits.
The fourth line of defence is resource mobilisation. Resources and assistance
are required in addition to confidence.
However, with the hit of global financial tsunami, it is worried that once the
outbreak of the flu is reported in poor countries, would these countries be able
to fight it? And when the United States is devoted to save its banks and
enterprises, would the United States and other developed countries have funds to
help? If the flu falls out of control, it would be another disaster to the
world’s economy.
A pandemic has tested man kind’s self-help ability. From the historical point of
view, human beings should be able to overcome it. However, the virus would
return in the future and thus, the battle continues.
