Is it wrong?

Today's personal challenge: Start the many writing assignments I have coming due within the month.
Today's reader challenge: Thank a Public Health professional or researcher, Scientist or a Healthcare worker for the work they do. Or you could read The Demon in the Freezer, by Richard Preston.

I have to say, I am excited about the swine flu and its potential to become a pandemic. (Don't get me wrong I don't want it near anyone I love.) Getting to watch a disease/virus travel is interesting. I want to know how it evolved into its current manifestation. (Did it start with pig fuckers? Kidding, I just think of the Flight of the Conchords line, "Getting diseases from monkeys...why don't they leave these poor sick monkeys alone, they got problems enough of their own".)
This virus came onto the radar in mid-March in Mexico. It took about a month for events to unfold which would warrant concern. So here we are. Too late for containment. Honestly it seems as though the virus has been detected quickly enough that a proactive stance could be taken effectively. There are stockpiles of anti-viral medications that have proven effective in treating the virus. The virus emerged in environments privy to "Western" medicine. We are having good weather. I have confidence that this situation, at least for those of us in the U.S. will remain manageable. Don't get me wrong, you won't see me be being complacent or blase about it. I do have a 15 month old child to protect from infection.
What this emerging pandemic brings up for me is, "What if?" What if this was a medication resistant virus or something for which we didn't even have rudimentary vaccines? What if it started in a more well traveled area like NYC, London or LA? What if it started in a country which didn't have the benefit of "Western" medicine to help manage and identify it in its early stages? What if we were dealing with a well calculated and intentional infection of a population?
This brings me to The Demon in the Freezer, by Richard Preston. A fantastic book that looks at these "what ifs". In light of current events it would be interesting, albeit possibly unsettling, to read through the book again.