THE backlash was predictable. Around the world, pundits and even some politicians are calling for an end to “crying wolf” over swine flu. It’s no worse than ordinary flu, they say, brandishing news reports of mild cases. Why are we wasting money on this nonsense?
Bluster of this kind will be with us as long as it attracts newspaper readers and TV viewers. But let’s be clear: nobody who knows the first thing about flu is crying wolf. It is an inherently unpredictable disease, and the fact that the H1N1 virus has not yet wreaked obvious havoc doesn’t mean there…
