Whats the difference between a Pandemic and an Epidemic?

So I am sure you have thought this over the last week or so with the rise of the Swine Flu Pandemic. What is the difference between a Pandemic and an Epidemic? I know I certainly wondered such. Well, here is your answer.

An Epidemic affects a region or a large part of a populated area while a Pandemic is worldwide. The last Pandemic flu was the Hong Kong Flu Pandemic of 1968 in which 39,000 died in the United States and nearly 1 million died worldwide.

So far the Swine Flu has killed about 150 in Mexico and is spreading with cases turning up all across the globe. It would be quite scary if the Swine Flu Pandemic reaches anywhere near the proportions of the Hong Kong Flu Pandemic. If so we are at the very beginning of the Pandemic currently.

Avoiding the Swine Flu

With all the concern with the swine flu let's take a minute to visit three simple things that can help one avoid swine flu.

1. Sanitize and wash, wash, wash. Stay clean and wash those hands. Bottom line is that 80% of all infections are spread by hands. A simple 20 second soap and water wash will do the trick.

2. Avoid social situations where possible. Social distancing is the word for it. Avoid large crowds when possible. Simply put, avoiding large groups will decrease the contact you have with potential infected.

3. Get help if you recognize symptoms. Fever, body aches, sore throat, cough, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. Recognize the swine flu symptoms. Get help. Tamiflu and Relenza appear to help with swine flu.

Hostages Freed from Pirates but Pirates let go

OK now get this one.....NATO forces tracked a group of Somali Pirates that had tried to capture a Marshall Islands flagged tanker. The NATO force tracked the Pirates back to their "mother-ship", a Yemeni flagged fishing ship that the Pirates had seized on Thursday. The NATO forces borded the Pirate "mother-ship" and rescued 20 fisherman who were being held hostage.

No problems there at all....good job NATO forces...caught the Pirates....rescued the hostages. Here's where it gets ridiculous. The Pirates were let go because the NATO forces had no authority to arrest the Pirates. It seems the NATO forces were Dutch and to be able to make an arrest the Pirates would have had to be Dutch as well. Now how silly is that? The Somali Pirates are never going to stop if everytime they get caught there are no consequences. They'll be right back out there next week.

Watch out! The Pirates vow Revenge

Oh goodness....now we have the Pirates after us. You knoew what was going to happen last week when they made the mistake of taking a ship under the US flag. I was surprised we didnt take the pirates out earlier and waited several days. That's just the way it was going to be. Glad to see the French actually standing up and showing some toughness lately as they seem to be the only other nation that cares to get tough with the pirates. We weren't going to pay millions of dollars to some punks in a little boat with some guns and we won't in the future. So bring it on you silly pirates. Your end will be the same as the group that kidnapped Captain Phillips.

Michelle Obama an instant hit in England

It didn't take long for First Lady Michelle Obama to win the hearts in England as she met with the Queen and made a very popular appearance at an all girls school in London. Michelle Obama clearly made an impression with the 82 yr old Queen, so much that she strayed slightly from protocol and briefly wrapped her arm around the first lady in a rare public show of affection.

The Daily Mail said the "two women clearly took to each other."

Later in the day Michelle Obama visited an all girls school in London to rave reviews and awestruck girls. Obama urged the students to take advantage of the schooling opportunity and reminded them that they could be anything they desired with a lot of hard work.

Her visit seems so impressive that she has been dubbed "Mighty Michelle" by the British media.