Egypt gives new meaning to "Pig Out"

Apparently swine flu is here to stay. I just wish the hysteria would die down already. More people die from seasonal flu every year and people are not in such a panic over it. If there was one aspect of public health that I think needs major work it would be the communication of risk to the public. I think the CDC is trying very hard and I give them credit but the media and such get people whipped into such a frenzy that there is no way to calm them down. The facts and figures are no longer persuasive because everyone is afraid they are going to die from swine flu. The most asinine action that really got me worked up was the actions of the Egyptian government. When the panic first swept the world Egypt ordered the slaughter of every single pig in the country. Six months later they are realizing it was maybe not the best idea! (In my best 80's voice- DUH!) Not only will that not stop the spread of swine flu but it had other unintended consequences, such as trash build up. In Egypt, pigs ate all the organic matter from the garbage. Now the job has fallen to the goats who do not do nearly as good a job as the pigs and hence Egypt now faces a major trash problem!
It seems that even after the ministers were informed that pigs were not the main culprit in the spread of the disease it became more of a social issue. It was an effort to clean up the areas where the garbage collectors lived and fed organic waste to pigs.
When faced with health scares many governments (ours included) do not create a well thought out game plan. The solution usually lies in how best to treat the problem NOW- the future be damned. Egypt is a prime example of how not to react during a crisis. Read the article here.
It seems like Egypt could definitely use a revamp of their public health system. I do need a job, but I don't think I want one that badly!