Determined to make swine flu fly

Remember avian flu? That was the virus that was going to mutate into the rogue killer flu that would wipe out civilisation as we know.

Meanwhile as we awaited pestilence of Biblical proportions to visit upon us along comes swine flu - which was going to mutate etc . . .

Now in the scale of things that are likely to shuffle off your mortal coil for you swine flu and bird flu combined must come somewhere between being hit by a meteorite and trampled in a stampede of cattle.

There have been 106 deaths in the UK so far and, although sad for the families concerned, ordinary, run-of-the-mill seasonal flu will kill anything between 3,000 and 10,000 or so souls in the UK this winter.

That will hardly register as a news item but have you noticed we had a little flurry of swine flu shock stories again last week? I suspect they won't be the last so brace yourself for the swine flu could become winter killer, nation braced for swine flu death toll and so on stories over the next few weeks.

I am sure that these warnings of doom ahead, no doubt followed by advice to be vaccinated or risk death and destruction, have nothing whatsoever to do with the vast stocks of Tamiflu which were originally purchased by the Government to combat bird flu and then used to show how we were the best prepared nation in the world to deal with swine flu - the usual world class and all that that this Government tags on to anything it does.

The bulk of the 14 million or soTamiflu doses reach their expiry date next year so it's a case of use them to save a grateful populous or bin them at considerable cost just before an election.