After a week of H1N1 news, I hope you're frequently washing your hands. But I also hope you haven't spent thousands of dollars on a hazmat suit or moved your family into an underground bunker.

When we first started reporting the H1N1 outbreak, cases had only been found in Mexico City. Estimates of the dead varied wildly from dozens to more than 100. Questions of a possible pandemic were quickly raised.

And that brought an additional question: How to inform people about so-called "swine flu," but not cause undue alarm. That's something media organizations, health authorities and our own readers grappled with.

At least initially, some were skeptical they had anything to fear. "Tanya" wrote that even Mexicans were keeping news reports at arm's length.

"My sister and family live in Mexico and have not even heard of the swine flu until us overzealous Canadians and the media blew things out of proportion," she wrote. "They have not even heard of one case of swine flu where they live. Mexico is a very large country and just because one part of the country is experiencing this flu, does not mean that the whole country is infected and that nobody should go there!"

She went on to say the reports were harming Mexico "because they are already under huge financial strain, and now their whole tourism industry is going to shut down because of this flu."

But in those first few days, other readers wondered if the initial H1N1 cases hinted at something far more dangerous to come.

"Joshua in Ottawa" wrote: "Myth: Swine flu is nothing to worry about. It's only killed 80 people in a city whose population approaches that of all Canada! Reality: Flu severity is determined by the 'Case-to-Fatality Ratio.' For example: your run-of-the-mill seasonal flu is fatal in 0.01% of cases. Swine flu, on the other hand, appears to have killed at least 80 in Mexico, out of around 1000 reported infections. That's about a 7% or 8% Case-to-Fatality Ratio. Crikey, use your imagination."

"Dale - Edmonton" accused the media of favouring "pessimism porn" and said we had over-hyped the situation like the economic crisis, which, he wrote, is improving. I guess he doesn't read The Economist.

"Ah yes, the media hype over the economic situation begins to abate as the situation resolves itself...what do we see...the media (speaking generally, not referring to any specific group or network) gets in a lather about whatever is available," he wrote. "Despite the puzzle of no deaths reported outside of Mexico... if you surf through the media you'd think that there was a 100% chance of half the world's population dying of the flu."

"Not Red Alert" noted that at least 1 million people die each year from traffic accidents, according to the World Health Organization. "And somehow 20 people sneeze and it's a big deal?" he or she wrote. "Where is the perspective and explanation of risk in the journalism over these kinds of issues -- or are we all supposed to be afraid of everything all the time?"

But "PB in MTL" said the media was not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, writing: "To all those weighing in about how this is all hype and just another media prank, I wonder why doctors, authorities and journalists would go to these lengths to just to scare, among them, their own family. The risks are obviously great enough that they think it warrants the public's attention and caution. If this does get out of control and really starts tearing through perfectly healthy Canadians, I wonder how many of the shrieking gallery here would be then complaining that they weren't informed ENOUGH."

All of these comments appeared on our website last Monday or earlier. By late Monday night, after the comments section had closed, Mexico's suspected H1N1 death toll hit nearly 150.

By Wednesday, the World Health Organization had raised its pandemic alert level to Phase 5, the second-highest level possible, indicating the probability of a full-blown pandemic was high to certain.

It seemed to echo the 1918 influenza pandemic, when the first cases appeared mild and limited to local outbreaks, before the number of fatal infections skyrocketed.

Outside of Mexico, health authorities reported confirmed cases in Canada, the United States, Scotland, Spain, Germany and New Zealand. The U.S. appeared to have a sustained outbreak. By the end of the week, the virus reached Hong Kong.

Readers asked for advice, but directed their questions to each other. That resulted in some bizarre moments, as when someone wondered if the airborne virus would reach the jet stream and get blown to Atlantic Canada. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed.

"Words from a Microbiologist in Ontario," clearly frustrated that some had dismissed the virus as "just the flu," tried to lay down the facts, writing: "I can assure you that this IS NOT just a common flu strain as some here have suggested. Yes, indeed, tens of thousands of people die of COMPLICATIONS related to flu every year in North America alone. However, in almost all of those cases, the victim had an underlying condition which was worsened because of the virus, or they were of very young or old age -- groups with less-than-ideal immune systems.

"The fact that this flu is mutating and spreading so rapidly on a global scale, and killing otherwise healthy citizens SHOULD be raising alarms. If anything, I can assure you that this situation is being underrated and not over-hyped. Unless you are educated in a related field, please don't comment as though you have some kind of authority in the matter. My thoughts go out to all those affected."

In the end, familiar guidelines for preventing the spread of illness may have been best -- don't buy a hazmat suit, but wash your hands and sneeze into your sleeve.

As "Brandi" wrote: "You can't get the virus from eating pork. Shutting borders is next to impossible. Instead, if people practice common sense things like washing their hands, cough and sneezing into a tissue, and staying home if they are ill, transmission will be reduced."