Swine Flu is at forefront of the media world right now. Meanwhile, public health officials are doing their job and showing that they are prepared. Each year, more than 30,000 people die in this county from influenza.

It’s yet to be determined what the impact of the swine flu will have on our communities.  No matter the outcome, we need to follow the lead of the health care professionals.

Dr. Mitchel Katz, San Francisco Public Health Director, told the San Francisco Chronicle, “People are not very sick. That’s why this is not a health crisis.”
“We’re seeing epidemic spread of a non-serious illness,” Katz said.

Katz said that people must take the same health practices that are practiced during any flu season.  He asked people not to go to the emergency room unless they are extremely sick.

With all of the public attention surrounding this issue, some irrational decisions are being made. The Egyptian government killing millions of pigs is a prime example.

We applaud medical professionals like Dr. Katz for speaking clearly and giving people information about what they need to do.

Further, Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County Public Health Officer, told the San Diego Union Tribune, “We are poised and ready to take this one.  It’s what we have trained for and planned for.”  

That is the kind of leadership that the people of San Diego can be proud of during the possibility of a developing crisis.

So far only one American has died from this flu. He was a child under the age of two who had just returned to Texas from Mexico.  

The bottom line: It is easy to get caught up in the hysteria of the moment.

But public administrators need to follow the lead of public health professionals like Dr. Wooten and Dr. Katz.