You can’t spell "pandemic" without "panic," and news about swine flu has put people in a tizzy. As with any tizzy, this has resulted in some misinformation getting mixed in with the real-time updates. We present a few misconceptions about swine flu that we’ve seen or heard in the last few days.
1. You can get swine flu from eating pork.
No more than you can get avian flu from eating birds, human flu from eating humans,
Year: 2009
Specter’s Statistic on the Switch
Sen. Arlen Specter’s remarks about changing political parties contained one statement that tripped our fact-checking radar: "Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats."
Two hundred thousand people in one state changing their political colors from red to blue? Could it be true? Unfortunately, there’s no way to be certain. That’s because, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State, "Pennsylvania’s voter registration form does not require the registrant to specify from which party they are changing."
April 29, 2009
More than 36,000 people die from influenza each year in the U.S., and 200,000 others are hospitalized because of the illness.
Source: National Institutes of Health
April 28, 2009
In countries with high rates of malaria, the disease accounts for up to 40 percent of public health expenditures and up to 60 percent of outpatient health clinic visits.
Source: World Health Organization
Obama at Georgetown
Q: Did Obama ask Georgetown University to remove all religious symbols before he would speak there?
A: A religious symbol was covered at the Catholic and Jesuit institution after the White House asked for a neutral TV backdrop.
April 27, 2009
Most of the world’s cases of malaria and deaths from the disease occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: World Health Organization
How Serious Is Swine Flu?
Blogs, news organizations and Twitter are all exploding with rumor and fact about the swine flu outbreak. But at the National Academy of Sciences today, President Obama said there was no need to panic:
Obama: We are closely monitoring the emerging cases of swine flu in the United States. And this is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert. But it’s not a cause for alarm.
So what’s the real terror alert level on swine flu?
April 26, 2009
Honey is 80 percent sugars and 20 percent water.
Source: Department of Agriculture
April 25, 2009
Honeybees are herbivores — but they can turn to cannibalism when stressed.
Source: Department of Agriculture
Rescue of Captain Phillips
Q: Did Obama delay the rescue of Captain Phillips?
A: No. Military officials say that the claims being made in a widely circulated chain e-mail are false.