The swine flu pandemic has brought a lot of anxiety for many people, especially some of us in the developing countries.

I personally think that it’s just a regular cold. All the symptoms have an explanation other than swine flu.

We have no reason to think it is anything other than the common cold, with maybe a few small changes.

I don’t know a whole lot about it, and I’m not some brilliant doctor, but all my friends are basically competing for ‘person most likely to have swine flu’.

One of the teachers will send you home with the slightest cough or if you lay your head on the desk, some will think you have got the flu.

Government has done well with measured response, sensible information and good forward planning.

Hopefully this is a mild outbreak and the death rate will be the same as or even less than normal flu.

But that is still additional deaths, and there is still the potential for an autumn outbreak.

Yes, there has been media hype, it is what sells papers, but the reality is that if we had taken this approach with other viruses then many lives would have been saved.

The UK focus now must be on maintaining sensible precautions and looking to help countries less able than us to manage an outbreak.

How can we avoid a swine flu pandemic?

Just by constant education by those who know how to deal with this virus.

In history there have always been periods of mass infection and disease.

We are human, after all, so we can't avoid it.

If swine flu doesn't get us, then there’ll be another one along soon.

Coun Salim Mulla