国内大概被以前的非典和禽流感搞怕了，现在弄得草木皆兵，不过虽然矫枉有点过正，但也说明处理方法有所进步。12日的《基督教科学箴言报》(The Christian Science Monitor)刊登了一篇文章，标题叫Why China is acting aggressively on swine flu？。文中说：

Six years ago, the Chinese government drew worldwide opprobrium for keeping SARS a secret while its citizens died or spread the disease abroad.

Nobody could accuse Beijing of a coverup over swine flu. The national TV evening news Monday, when the first confirmed case was reported on the mainland, reported little else, and the authorities broadcast a very public manhunt. Within 24 hours, they had tracked down and quarantined more than 80 percent of the people who had come in contact with the victim between Tokyo and the provincial Chinese city where he was hospitalized.

If all this seems rather like overkill, it illustrates just how determined China is to be above reproach in its reaction to this public-health scare after failing so badly over SARS. It also reflects a particular worry in a country where bird flu is endemic in many regions.

Bird flu has killed more than half the people it has infected, but is hardly transmissible among humans. Swine flu is benign in about 99 percent of cases, according to a study published this week in Science magazine, but it is very contagious.

美国与墨西哥接壤，而纽约又是美国种族最混杂的城市，老墨尤其多，因此病例也多。最早因此而停课的学校就在我们以前住的皇后区，法拉盛也有学生感染。刚开始我们也有点紧张，但现在似乎大家不大拿它当回事了。

18日补记：美国现在似乎成了最严重的疫区，感染者最多，尤以我们住的Queens为甚。一助理校长昨晚死亡，光我们所在的法拉盛就又关闭了三所学校。

10月补记：现在都担心秋季猪流感再来，地方政府正在积极准备疫苗。

想起小时候学过的一篇古文，复习一下：

《国语·周语上》

　　厉王虐，国人谤王。召公告王曰：“民不堪命矣！”王怒！得卫巫，使监谤者，以告，则杀之；国人莫敢言，道路以目。王喜！告召公曰：“吾能弭谤矣，乃不敢言。”

　　召公曰：“是鄣之也，防民之口，甚于防川，川壅而溃，伤人必多，民亦如之。是故为川者，决之使导；为民者，宣之使言。故天子听政，使公卿至于列士献诗，瞽献曲，史献书，师箴，瞍赋，蒙诵，百工谏，庶人传语，近臣尽规，亲戚补察，瞽史教诲，耆艾修之，而后王斟酌焉。是以事行而不悖。

　　民之有口也，犹土之有山川也，财用于是乎出；犹其有原隰衍沃也，衣食于是乎生。口之宣言也，善败于是乎兴。行善而备败，所以阜财用衣食者也。夫民虑之于心，而宣之于口，成而行之，胡可壅也？若壅其口，其与能几何？”

　　王弗听，于是国人莫敢出言。三年，乃流王于彘。