When asked to predict what the possible economic impact of the swine flu might be, Snyder notes that it depends on how lethal it is.

"Current best estimates are that the H1N1 flu will not be much worse than a typical influenza epidemic. The early reports out of Mexico were scary, but later experience has been that people recover. Still, flu viruses change slightly with little warning, so we can't be sure until the epidemic is upon us. Second, will the vaccine be effective? If so, then the effects will not be much worse than a typical flu season. If those afflicted feel like they have a 'typical' flu, but more people get it, we can look for 25% of the workforce to miss approximately 1-2 weeks of work. That knocks roughly 1/2% of GDP for the year, but during the period of the epidemic it will be 1-2% of current output. If the vaccine doesn't work well enough to make cases relatively mild, then we would have a direct effect of 1/2% - 1% and a secondary effect of people avoiding occasions to catch the flu - restaurants, shopping malls, etc. This could be a bigger effect. This is very hard to estimate, but let's say half the people cut their shopping trips in half, retail services handle roughly 40% of the economy ... so 10% for three months or 2.5% of the year. That is like a bad recession. Of course, there is on-line shopping. This type of epidemic could be good for Amazon, for example...so, maybe another 1-2% for the year. If people die from the flu in large numbers, the discretionary economy will pretty much shut down. Although not prepared to provide estimates, it could be very, very bad.

According to Dolan, epidemics, like other kinds of suffering, call for stories.

"A community facing an epidemic inevitably produces narratives meant to express, explain, or escape suffering. Accounts of the Black Death, cholera, influenza, AIDS, SARS, and other infectious diseases raise dystopic and apocalyptic visions of human society and offer inspiring tales of human compassion. They invite stories not just about the experience of suffering during an epidemic, but also about an epidemic's origin. For example, multiple theories about the causes of the fourteenth-century plague developed in Europe: it was alternatively attributed to God's wrath (brought down to punish a variety of sins); to the climate (miasma); to the beliefs of Jews; and to contact among people. Likewise, the solutions were varied--kill undesirable people, reform morals, give generously to the poor, euthanize stray cats and dogs, quarantine the ill and their families. Often pitting humans against one another in a struggle for survival, epidemics incite fear-based prejudice and 'othering,' expose problematic social assumptions, and thus provide an opportunity for a range of social criticism."

Dolan can comment on the swine flu from a historical, medicine and literature perspective, and how the swine flu might be perceived in literature down the road.

According to Lule, "I've been viewing swine flu coverage with my myth-trained eyes! Too often, I see panicky stories and headlines that seem to call forth mythic stories of pestilence and plagues."

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