John Barry who wrote the accessible account of the 1918 flu pandemic has a worthwhile op-ed in the NY Times this morning, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/opinion/28barry.html?_r=1.

It sums up the relative importance of the current swine flu outbreak and what we *might* expect next, in terms of mutations etc, based on historical precedents. I say might because nothing is certain here, every outbreak follows its own course. But the column is brief and worth a look. Nothing to panic over. We'll get through this. Etc.