LogFAQs > #933776604

To my understanding, the main difference between this (and bird flu, H1N1, SARS, etc) versus the normal flu isn't how deadly it is. It's that as a result of having just jumped species we don't have innate immune-system responses built up over generations to it, so the infection rate is sky high.

Now enough people get sick you start having issues not only being able to treat everyone but maintaining things we take for granted like water and power and you eventually run into people dying without even getting sick themselves, but we are far, far away from anything like that. (Well, most the world is, I should say.)

In other words, it's important for outbreaks like this to be taken seriously because if they aren't it could get much worse. At the same time, because they are being taken seriously the majority of the world doesn't need to worry too much about it.
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