In general, people are afraid of influenza because of the high mortality of the 1918 virus, and also due to media attention given lethal infections with avian H5N1 strains. Should the new strain infect millions of people, at a mortality rate of 0.1% (typical for seasonal influenza), many people will die. It is therefore entirely appropriate to be concerned about this strain of influenza. Such concern is not at the expense of attention and research on other important diseases which also kill many. Finally, remember that the media generates much of the 'hype' because that is their job. For more information on influenza, see my posts at virology.ws.