When you see/read about outbreaks of diseases do you feel that they are often blown out of proportion?

Question: When you see/read about outbreaks of diseases do you feel that they are often blown out of proportion?

Asked by lewisburnett to Alexandra on 16 Jun 2010 in Categories: Your Research.
- Alexandra Kamins answered on 16 Jun 2010:
  
  This is a good question! It totally depends on the disease. Media always like a good “scare” story, so it’s easy for them to latch on to the new doom for humanity. A lot of people felt that Avian flu was this huge panic about nothing, or that swine flu was this epidemic that didn’t really happen. Two things: First, I’d much rather see an over-reaction than too little reaction when it’s needed! For example, West Nile is now happily settled into the States because we didn’t act at the first signs. Imagine if we hadn’t done anything for swine flu, and it had turned as deadly as the 1918 flu? Second, many times disease outbreaks aren’t as bad because we stop or limit them!!! So something “blown out of proportion” may be from an original prediction that we then make a whole lot better because of quarantines, treatments, planning, etc.
  
  Do you have any outbreak in particular that you were reading about and felt it was out of proportion?

Question: When you see/read about outbreaks of diseases do you feel that they are often blown out of proportion?