Where scare is the fare

The flavour of the season is fear. Really, that single emotion has always driven humanity into all its deeds and misdeeds. The roots of science, religion and philosophy can be traced to a mortal fear of nature, future and the unknown. Of course, these disciplines might have come a long way, evolved in the process, widened their arc beyond mere human insecurity and may even claim to have solutions to many of mankind’s problems. But the primal passion of fear reigns undiminished: the eyes of the primitive caveman confronted by a wildbeast are no different from those staring out of a half-masked face in awe of an unseen virus today: Just look around! Fear, like H1N1 is airborne, communicable but eminently more potent!

The white man holds communicable diseases in mortal dread. There are British Raj tales dating to 18th and 19th centuries wherein Indian families shielding freedom fighters would shoo away British soldiers by saying that a resident of the house is down with small pox or the like. The West with their superior health care and civic amenities always claim to have conquered such infections. So even a single death raises a hue and cry for it is deemed a slight on their infallibility. But malaria, diarrhoea, dengue and influenza are taken for granted amidst the third world’s poor masses whose very existence do not register on the world’s radar for deaths to be of any significance. Indeed, the earlier H5N1 of bird flu fame and the latest H1N1 emanating from pigs have caused much media and public furore here only because they are imported ones and Indians always love ‘foreign made’, ideally western! Otherwise, we are quite self-sufficient on the viruses front and can even export some. On the contrary, besides the flu, we have imported their fears too.

For us, flu is a seasonal but regular visitor with a marked preference for the monsoon and winter. Besides the abundant breeding grounds wrought by poor sanitary systems, most of these viruses love the dampness of water, chilled air and cold climes. Like humans they get cozy in such times and mutate: God spread his mischief uniformly across all creation. I am tempted to talk of some religious observances relating to diets, hygiene and environment prescribed for this period of weather change, but we will keep it strictly secular, on second thoughts. Flu, in short, is more or less ordained though that is no reason to take it lightly. But what is sought to be highlighted is the unwarranted hype over the present one. Awareness must lead to enlightened precautions, not a mindless scare.

Pros or cons, some cold facts need to be faced head on. This new virus is no doubt more infectious than water borne ones. Beyond the normal rules of hygiene, it has eluded prevention so far. But then viruses have always been a step ahead of vaccines. So there is little choice but to rest assured that an anti-viral will emerge from the labs soon and the scourge will eventually abate. But viruses, given their nature, have a knack for varying their virulence as also their virtues and so can appear in newer strains. Indeed, it is an endless battle as the combinations are infinite and conveyance modes ample. For now, treatment is the only option. But here too, the effectiveness of Tamiflu is under a cloud with some succumbing despite it. So is it the end of the world?

As stated earlier, there are other major killers like malaria and diarrhoea which claim many lives daily, quite, er, quietly. By those standards, the Swine flu is not a killer infection, not at least on a mass scale. According to media reports quoting WHO, of around 2 lakhs cases worldwide, deaths come to less than 2000 or 1%. Fatality also depends on individual vulnerability and if unreported cases are considered, the death toll is miniscule. Of course, that is no consolation to the bereaved families and statistics can be most insensitive. The point is even if you were to host the swine’s rep in your lungs, the possibility of you meeting your maker is very remote. So with the issue of eternal sleep now settled, next comes the suffering. Apart from all the trappings of a common flu, namely, cough, aches, fever and the like, swine flu has no extra ailments to offer to justify its superior status. Still, isolation for a week at the most is a must, for the sake of society.

Here is where the national and State governments have goofed up and the media is playing havoc in the vacuum. We have absorbed the West’s flu and fears but failed to emulate the corrective actions they took. First, all educational institutions, from prep schools to professional colleges, should have been asked to close shop for at least a week. Children are the most vulnerable and easy carriers too. Besides the medical prudence of such a course which has been very successful in the West, a brief holiday would have been a stitch in time, avoiding an inevitable longer stint later, if the panic rages. This is not a peak academic month any way and much confusion and parental anxiety could have been averted. It is not late even now. Again, the media induced exodus from affected areas is another shot in the foot. Instead of confining the disease, does this not take the virus on a free ride all around? Should not have the authorities asked the people of Pune for instance to stay put? And worse is the impending collapse of the medical infrastructure which is already creaking. Scarce medical resources are being diverted on the basis of this scare from more deserving diseases and sicker patients. Besides, those terrified crowds thronging the hospitals and testing centres increases the risk of the disease spreading. The combination of official inaction, media hyper-action and people’s hysteria only proves that the nation collectively is hellbent on helping the virus to thrive and fulfil our deathwish!

Indeed all these make for a strange I-Day: From striving for freedom from foreign rule over sixty years ago, the present fights are for the following, in whatever order: Freedom from financial woes, freedom from fidayeen attacks, freedom from famines and freedom from flu. My choice? Freedom from fear which is the key to every other freedom. And that includes the freedom to sneeze in a public place without scattering the public around you!

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