Bad surprise

Today, for the first time after many weeks, some on-line news media have published the story of another swine flu victim, a 32-years-old woman who died in Pisa (Tuscany). She was admitted in the local hospital on December 23, after been hit by the H1N1 virus. The Ansa press agency report also the deaths of other 3 people since the start of the year: a 59-years-old man in Perugia (Umbria), a 56-years-old woman in Brindisi (Puglia) and a 76 years-old man in Ancona (Marche). The death toll has been updated to 204 deaths. The Corriere della Sera looks a bit surprised by the piece of news, writing “The A flu starts to kill again.” In the media the swine flu has been first promoted to the role of the century's pandemic, and then it has been relegated to the role of a common cold, so now the situation is confused, even though the deaths have trickled quite continuously.

Swine flu, no coverage

Many Italian news media don't cover the swine flu any more. Yesterday the Ansa press agency reported about the 10th death in Veneto, a man 56 years old, already ill by cancer, who died near Verona after 20 days in a hospital. And this is the only bit of news about the swine flu.

Campania hit by swine flu

According to the Ministry of Health, the fatal cases of swine flu are 53. Fifty people were in the risk group.Very few people have been vaccinated, only 150,000 people out of 3,000,000 avalaible doses. The websites of many newspapers aren't covering the pandemic in the front page any more, apart from ilmattino.it, newspaper of Campania region, where occured 23 deaths. Meanwhile, the flu articles are in the top 20 news of GoogleNews.
The press release of the government has also announced that 40 million of antiviral drugs doses are avaiable, but this issue is not currently debated.

Poll: Swine flu worries Italians

People are worried about the swine flu and its complications. They don't trust health authorities and don't believe the vaccine is safe. According to a poll of La Repubblica, 57% of people are very or quite worried about the new virus. The majority, 54%, expect to become ill. A lot of people, 60%, will consult the family doctor in case of fever, while a quarter (25%) will rush to the hospital and 15% will stay home without asking anyone. A large 60% are very or quite worried about complications, 31% a little worried, 7% not worried. About what to do in case of catching the swine flu, only 10% feel to be well informed, 26% quite informed, 32% a bit, 31% don't have any instructions. A staggering 56% are against vaccination, 33% are positive, and 11% don't know what to do. The majority (51%) think that the vaccine is not safe, not tested and can be dangerous, 27% think it's safe. 41% think the government is telling the truth, while 42% no.
There are at least three problems about communication during the swine flu pandemic. First, it looks like communication involved the general public and not only the high risk group. Even worse, it  must have been confusing. So, a lot of people (60%) feel unnecessary anxiety about severe complications. Secondly, many people (63%) are insure about what to do, and this is another failure of the communication process. Last, the flu vaccine is quite unpopular, even though each year in Italt the seasonal vaccination campaign takes place.
The poll is up-to-date, because people have been asked on November 3.

Vatican Radio: Too much alarm

Maybe there aren't new tidings, maybe the pandemic has become boring, but today the flu issue hasn't been the first one in the newscasts. The death toll is still rising, up to 25 fatal cases in yesterday's official report. Vatican Radio has blamed on media for what happened in Italy. “There has been too much alarm for the flu. And this is good only for pharmaceutical firms that produce the vaccine” said the radio channel One-Five Live. “Look at the alarmed way used by media to tell the story of people killed by AH1N1, without mentioning that almost all were patients affected by other illness” it said “scared people asked to be protected and governments, under pressure, buy great bulk of vaccine”. Actually, the newspapers have been reporting obsessively that the victims were all in the high risk group. And the vaccination campaign is targeting, after the health care workers, this group of people. Unfortunately, it looks like the vaccination was too late for some of them. The speaker of the radio seems to think that these deaths were't caused by the flu virus, but by other causes. The two doctors try to explain that this virus can be dangerous for people at risk and that the vaccine is really useful.

What the minister is asking

Another fatal case of swine flu occurred in Italy. A 37 years old musician died in Salerno, a city south of Naples. Italian newspapers keep track of the death toll, now 18, even though yesterday the Deputy Minister of Health Ferruccio Fazio asked the media to suspend it. Professor Fazio explained that this flu is milder then the seasonal one and that there is no need to worry. However, the Minister from now on will issue a daily update of the pandemic. So, maybe Professor Fazio himself doesn't think the uproar is going to be abated very soon. Actually, he pleaded everyone not to rush to the emergency room, but to consult first the family's doctor.