Mal Fletcher comments

That's two people infected out of a population of sixty million. At present levels, the chances of you contracting swine flu if you live in Britain are one in 30 million.

Of course, those odds will narrow significantly if a pandemic takes hold. The concern is that the virus may already have spread too widely to be totally contained. Or that it will mutate so quickly that is will present us with previously unforeseen challenges.

Again, though, raising public anxiety levels is counter-productive.

We must also hold our political leaders accountable - not for the problem itself, which is beyond their control, but for the leadership skill they show in the face of it.

There are only three rules for leading people during a crisis: communicate, communicate, communicate.

Leaders must articulate clearly the challenges faced and the current status of the group's ability to respond. They must, at the same time, enlist the support and input of people who are qualified to offer pragmatic assistance and strategic planning.

What our political leaders must not do is speak publicly in vague terms, using words that mean nothing because nobody has bothered to explain them.

Above all, they must offer that all important element of hope, that sense that whilst the threat may be very real, so is the public's general common sense in facing times of trauma - if they're given the right information and support.

FDR was right: we have nothing to fear but fear itself. He wasn't suggesting that fear is not helpful in some situations, but that sustained fear can do more damage to us as individuals and communities than the things we fear.

One of the children who tested positive for the virus after catching it at her New York school, told The Times: 'It does seem scary when they put you in isolation, but it goes away. It's something to be afraid of, but you have to go on with your life.'

Out of the mouths of babes.