Travel Health

Aaaaaargh, bird- we mean, swine flu is here and we’re all going to die. Or maybe not travel quite as much.

A couple of years ago Road Junky posted a tongue in cheek editorial about bird flu and we could almost have posted it again crossing out the word bird and replacing it with swine. But we couldn’t find a button on the keyboard that crossed out words so we’re writing this article from scratch about swine flu.

That’s swine influenza in case a Googlebot is visiting and would like to include this page in Google News. We could do with the traffic.

Of course not many people really understand the science behind flu and why pigs have anything to do with it, as the amazing xkcd.com makes clear:

But whether or not swine flu really will kill us all or just impose severe restraints on travel, it’s likely that disease will be a big part of the future in one way or another. With a world population likely to cap at around 9 billion as everyone migrates to the cities, bacteria will find it easier and easier to mutate among densely-packed populations who are constantly on the move.

Maybe we’re just in a grim mood, maybe we’re just pissed about traffic falling as everyone goes out to enjoy the sunshine instead of sitting in front of the roadjunky.com homepage, but what if the world really does end up with city states with quarantined walls keeping those with less genetic immunity out?

Ok, we just got off seeing Code 46 (trailer below) but get out there and see those Mayan ruins/Buddhist temples/desert island beaches while you still can. Or otherwise just turn off your television and unplug from the paranoia trip infecting everyone far faster than any swine influenza outbreak…

Want to meet other road junkies?
Come to the Road Junky Sahara Retreat Feb 6-11 2012 to hang out with 30 other travelers to meditate, make yoga, tell stories and dance under the full moon in the desert.

Follow Road Junky on Twitter for live updates @roadjunky

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