Swine Flu Panic Hits Peters Township, Pennsylvania

50 cases of swine flu in the US. No deaths. Insignificant in relation to the 36,000 estimated to die in the US each year due to the flu.

But there's panic. Stores are selling out of hand sanitizer, according to a video on CNN. Bottled water and toilet paper supplies are certain to dwindle. And now, Peters Township, a municipality near Pittsburgh, may get in on the panic, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, One of America's Great Newspapers.

Alert Peters resident Ron Boocks last night asked the Peters council to form a task force to address a possible flu pandemic. It's "a great threat to public health," he said. He wants to make sure that local emergency officials stock up on masks, gloves, and other emergency supplies.

I hope they stock up on them, because if my house is ablaze, I'm only going to accept firefighting services from Peters Township or other similarly swine flu-protected firemen.