Mal Fletcher comments

In human terms, fear is a good motivator in the short-term; it helps us react to emergencies, raising the fight or flight response mechanisms.

In the medium to longer term, though, fear is a very poor option. It is counterproductive, robbing us of the ability to think objectively and strategically and to act decisively.

If allowed to grow unchecked in our minds, fear breeds terror, panic and irrational responses to problems. In short, it cripples our ability to act wisely or creatively.

It can grow so strong that it quickly overpowers hope, becoming our default emotion when we think about the future.

At the level of community, sustained fear is a potential pandemic far more dangerous than swine flu. It spreads rapidly through entire populations, spawning paralysis of the mind and will.

We are social beings who are heavily influenced in our behaviour and attitudes by the dominant culture around us. We may deny this, proud of our autonomy and independence of thought, but recent studies have shown just how much we take our cues from group-think, the so-called 'wisdom of crowds'.

Fear is a contagion that cannot be checked using antidotes created in a laboratory. It feeds on intangibles, things that go bump in the night.

We must keep our sense of perspective. In much of the media coverage about the virus, precious little has been offered in the way of helpful information. Much has been said that creates more heat than light.

With headlines about swine flu taking pole position on 24/7 news channels, much has been made of the WHO's threat-level increase. Yet I've seen nobody, in the mainstream media newscasts, telling people what that increase actually means.

Why tell people that the threat level has shifted from phase 3 to phase 4 without explaining what those levels actually mean?

The lack of precision, the use of only broad brush strokes, robs us of the detail we need to find perspective.

At the epicentre of the virus, in Mexico, an estimated 159 people have died from the disease. Of course, that's 159 people too many! But who amongst our leaders and media pundits is reminding us that Mexico has a population of 109 million?

In Britain, much has been made of the fact that cases have been found within the UK. But just how many people have been infected? As of yesterday, two that we know about - a hapless young couple from Scotland who were unfortunate enough to take their honeymoon in Cancun at just the wrong time.

They were hospitalized - mainly, I think, as a containment precaution - and they're responding well to treatment. Seven of the 22 friends with whom they've had contact since returning to Britain have shown only mild symptoms of the disease, and these people haven't even been hospitalized; they've been treated with anti-retroviral drugs at home.